CBG Blog

Americans Re-elect Chimp

2004-11-04T13:20:00.000Z

After the successful re-election of American president, George W Bush, it has been revealed that the American people have been the subject of an experiment.

It has long been known that the position of president holds no real power, and that the decisions are made by his "advisors". It has also been surmised that the perceived 'charisma' of a candidate influences voters far more than actual policy. Hence, scientists devised an experiment, sponsored by both Republican and Democrat campaign organisers, to test this hypothesis.

The scientists chose to use a chimp, because it could be more easily trained to repeat certain phrases and gestures. The chimp, known to Billions as "George W Bush", is in fact, called "Bobo". He has performed admirably, faithfully repeating these phrases and gestures, whenever it was required of him. The phrases, such as "evil doers", with which Bobo was trained, were used as frequently as possible, in order to disguise his lack of vocabulary. They thought the whole experiment was in danger, at first, because he was unnerved by cameras, and tended to add extra syllables to words. However, this just seemed to endear him to the public.

His handlers, however, have always been exceedingly proud of the way in which he mastered his allocated gestures. The famous hand movements, where he brings them to his chest, followed closely by the downward 'patting' gesture of his extended right hand, has been repeated over and over again, convincing the public of his charisma and sincerity. This was a triumph for his handlers, who took a movement, which came naturally to Bobo, and modified it only slightly, to make it seem more human. Another example of this method is Bobo's swaggering walk, modified only slightly to make it seem human. They never really managed to take the ape-like manner out of his arm movements, but again this just seemed to endear him to the public.

The original plan was to tell the voters about the experiment before the election for a second term. Howerver, at the last minute, the scientists decided to find out just how far they could go. They were amazed when the public didn't pick up on his ape characteristics, during such an intense campaign.

"We never intended for it to go this far," said head scientist Bill Dukeson. "Right up until Bobo's acceptance speech, we expected the whole thing to be exposed. That's why his speech was short. We hadn't really prepared for that outcome."

Things could not have turned out better for Bobo's presidential 'advisors'. There is no provision under American law for the election of a chimp, so, in fact, his position cannot be challenged. His team will be able to set policy for another four years.

The scientists have now set themselves a new challenge. Even though the experitment has now been revealed to the public, they wonder if, given time, people may start to think of him as human again.

I'm back - sort of.

2004-08-10T13:29:00.000+01:00

Hi folks.

I'm back. I took a rest and didn't think I'd blog again, but I recently thought I'd see if anyone had visited the site since I'd said "toodle-oo". To amazement, it still gets traffic. Not much, but then it never did. Also, without me doing anything at all, it seems to appear on more and more search engines. I even found it on BlogShares (not worth much, though).

So, I'm going to start posting again, but only once in a while. Maybe the Fence-Sitter will forgive me for being out of contact for ages and make some comments. :-)

I hope all you nice folks have upgraded to the latest versions of Firefox and Thunderbird, because they fix some security holes. But, whatever you do, don't use Internet Explorer or Outlook. Microsoft just can't keep up with those security holes.

Hasta luego.

--
CBG

Toodle-oo

2004-06-30T12:27:00.000+01:00

You have probably noticed that, recently, I have not blogged very often.
The truth is... I'm bored with it and I have other things that take up my time. Hence, this will be my last post.

So, fans of mine, for the last time... toodle-oo.

--
CBG

Coto to take up 'Star Trek: Enterprise' reigns

2004-06-18T12:52:00.000+01:00

Several sources have said that Manny Coto is to take over the day-to-day running of "Star Trek: Enterprise" from Rick Berman and Brannon Braga.

I think this will probably be a good thing and bring renewed energy to the franchise. Manny Coto demonstrated excellent writing and creative ability during season three.

--
CBG

Software releases

2004-06-17T13:09:00.000+01:00

I have just returned from a two and a half week holiday to find there has been a slew of Open Source software releases.

Mozilla Firefox 0.9
I have to say I'm really impressed with it. The theme/extension manager is worth its weight in gold.

Mozilla Thunderbird 0.7
Things are really starting to move quickly with this email client. It now has a theme/extension manager based on the Firefox version. Thunderbird is definitely my email client of choice.

Mono Beta 3
Haven't really had chance to play with this yet, but the reports are good.

SharpDevelop Release Candidate 1
Haven't even downloaded it yet, but if previous progress is anything to go by, it should be impressive.

Links:
Firefox 0.9
Thunderbird 0.7
Mono Beta 3
SharpDevelop RC1

--
CBG

SaveEnterprise.com founder gets Air Force medal

2004-06-17T12:57:00.000+01:00

Tim Brazeal (founder of Save Enterprise) has received an honorary "DEPARTMENT OF AIR FORCE ACHIEVEMENT MEDAL", for his work in bringing "Star Trek: Enterprise" back for a fourth season.

Well done Tim! You deserve it.

Links:
Full story...

--
CBG

Scott Bakula chat transcript

2004-05-27T12:59:00.000+01:00

A chat transcript of the most recent question-and-answer session with Scott Bakula (Archer) on StarTrek.com.

During a warm chat, he expresses his gratitude to the fans for bringing back "Star Trek: Enterprise" for another season and also puts pay to some rumours.

Links:
Full transcript...

--
CBG

Blogger comments

2004-05-26T13:03:00.000+01:00

Decided to go with the new comments system that Blogger put in.
Unfortunately, that means that the old comments will go. Sorry folks, especially Fence who seemed to leave most of them.
This way, however, I will be emailed as soon as a comment is left. I can then respond quicker.

--
CBG

'Star Trek: Enterprise' Renewed!

2004-05-21T12:42:00.000+01:00

The official announcement has been made that "Star Trek: Enterprise" will come back for another season, but will move to Fridays. The part that fans played in ensuring its return was also acknowledged. However, there is, by no means, a guarantee that it will have a 5th season.
The work to "Save Enterprise" continues.

Links:
Original story
SaveEnterpise.com
--
CBG

SaveEnterprise fax service

2004-05-13T12:49:00.000+01:00

SaveEnterprise.com has launched a service that allows you to send faxes to UPN, online, for free!
Check out the home page for the links.

--
CBG

New blogger stuff

2004-05-13T12:43:00.000+01:00

Google has recently revamped Blogger and I am trying to explore the new options, such as built in comments.
I may be quiet for a few days, as what little time I would spend blogging, could be taken up with playing.

Links:
Evaluation of new Blogger at "Blog News for Bloggers"

--
CBG

Legal battle to save 'Andromeda'

2004-05-06T13:03:00.000+01:00

A few days ago I posted about the closure of "Andromeda" producer, "Fireworks", and the apparent cancellation of "Andromeda". Since then I have been pointed to an article on "The Futon Critic", which reports that there is a legal battle to make the producer honour an agreement to make another season.
We may yet see more of "Andromeda". Let us hope that the shock of imminent cancellation motivates them to serve it with a smaller portion of cheese.

Original article at "The Futon Critic"...

--
CBG

'Save Enterprise' email service

2004-05-06T12:49:00.000+01:00

The SaveEnterprise.com founder has made the following announcement on the forums:

"We are fast approaching the final phase here to see if our efforts are paying off. May 20th we will all know. Although I have received allot of letters in the mail so far. We need more. We are along ways from filling the two mailbags. Here is what I would like you all to do. Write your letters via email and send them to me.. it does not matter if you are in the US. or somewhere else.. If you are the mod or owner of Star Trek related clubs or groups.. pass them this email addy and have them send them all in. We will print them out and mail them all in.. you don't have to worry about stamps or or anything else.. please pass this around to all the forums as well as any other media..

On the 10th of May, I will UPS all the letters to UPN,Paramount and Viacom. So please email them to us... get all of your friends and family involved.. This is our last chance to show major support for Enterprise.. WE NEED YOUR LETTERS NOW !!!!!

Email all letter to: tim@saveenterprise.com please put letter campaign as the subject.. This way I can sort through them all easily and get them printed and sent out.

please mention saveenterprise.com and also please put your name, address and other information on the letter. This way they know that we are not just duplicating letters.."

This is an excellent idea and a very generous service. You heard the guy, write some emails and save Star Trek: Enterprise. (Do not forget to use "letter campaign" as the subject).

Original forum post...

--
CBG

UPN Establishes Voice Mailbox For 'Enterprise' Supporters

2004-05-06T12:40:00.000+01:00

This from TrekToday:

"After being inundated with phone calls by fans of Star Trek: Enterprise, UPN has created a voice mailbox specifically to handle 'Save Enterprise' calls.

A UPN representative told SaveEnterprise.com that because of the number of calls coming in from the web site, a dedicated voice mailbox had been set up specifically for fans of the show to voice their support.

The UPN representative promised that every message would be heard."

With so many things happening, that show just how popular "Star Trek: Enterprise" is, and widespread praise of season 3, it is difficult to see how the Nielson ratings could be representative.

Original story at TrekToday...

--
CBG

Ripping to WavPack

2004-05-05T12:59:00.000+01:00

I have decided, recently, to try out some lossless audio compression formats.
I tried FLAC and found it very easy to use with CDex, but I was a little disappointed with the compression it achieved. I then tried WavPack and found that I could get better compression, but it does not play well with CDex. I get a "The system could find the file" error message.
Does anyone know how to make this work? What is the right parameter string to use in CDex?
Leave a comment, or email me.
Thanks

Links:
FLAC
WavPack
CDex

--
CBG

Mono Beta 1 has been released

2004-05-05T12:42:00.000+01:00

Today, the Mono team announced their Beta 1 release.
The best thing about this, of course, is that version 1 is just around the corner. This is great achievement for the team. They have completed, what seemed like, a mammoth task. Well done, fellas!
Also, this release should fix the bug I talked about in this post.
My first priority will be to see how well it plays with SharpDevelop. I shall let you all know how I get on.

Links:
Mono Beta 1 release notes
Mono download page
SharpDevelop (Open Source dotNET IDE)

--
CBG

Positive 'Star Trek: Enterprise' comments at 'The Digital Bits'

2004-05-04T12:58:00.000+01:00

The "My Two Cents" section at "The Digital Bits" features some very nice comments about season 3 of "Star Trek: Enterprise".

An excerpt:
"...This is just great stuff. Bottom line, Enterprise this season is doing stuff that Star Trek hasn't dared to do in a long time (if ever)."

Full story

--
CBG

"Star Trek: Enterprise" actors optimistic

2004-04-30T12:49:00.000+01:00

From TrekToday:

"Dominic Keating (Malcolm Reed) and Connor Trinneer (Trip Tucker) have recently made statements that indicate both are hopeful the show will return for a fourth season."

Keating states, in a recent "Dreamwatch Magazine" interview, that construction for the set of Enterprise's set for the fourth season is scheduled to begin on May 12th (a week before the official announcement on "Star Trek: Enterpise's" future is to be made). This is a good sign.

Trinneer, in a recent on-line chat, related his gratitude to the letter writing campaign, currently organised by SaveEnterprise.com. "I can't tell you how good it makes me feel and how important it is," he said. "The amount of support that you the fans give us and in trying to keep us on the air is quite impressive and I thank you from the bottom of my heart."

Full story on TrekToday

--
CBG

Disclaim cool gambling

2004-04-29T12:37:00.000+01:00

A friend was reading an article on Kuro5hin about how to win the lottery and he found the following, which has to be one of the best disclaimers around...

"Please gamble responsibly. If you decide to gamble irresponsibly, smoke while you do it so that you at least look cool."

8-)

--
CBG

Political poodle

2004-04-28T12:59:00.000+01:00

"The Fence" pointed this out the other day on her blog.

Go to Google.co.uk. Tick the "pages from the UK" box. Type "poodle" into the search box. Then hit the "I'm feeling lucky" button.
Sit back and have a laugh at whose biography comes up. :-D

--
CBG

Gene Roddenberry's "Andromeda" to be cancelled

2004-04-28T12:45:00.000+01:00

Due to the closure of Canadian producer "Fireworks", sci-fi series "Andromeda" looks certain to be cancelled.
"Andromeda" is one of a number of "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry's stories that have made it to television since his death.

Links:
Full story on "The Great Link"

--
CBG

"Star Trek: Enterprise" voted tenth in "shows people from overseas should watch"

2004-04-27T13:31:00.000+01:00

At Cinescape, Enterprise is in tenth place on a poll of "shows people from overseas should watch."

--
CBG

SaveEnterprise.com forums back

2004-04-27T12:52:00.000+01:00

The SaveEnterprise.com forums were hacked last week and were down for a few days. However, thanks to the immensely talented Tim, they now have a temporary up and running.
So, show those bastards they cannot beat us and join in.

Links:
New forum

--
CBG

Trekkies' support for 'Enterprise' is out of this world

2004-04-26T12:49:00.000+01:00

From the USA Today web site:

"Enterprise was the top vote-getter on USA TODAY's Save Our Shows poll.
"Star Trek: Enterprise won enormous support in USA TODAY's seventh annual Save Our Shows survey, as a record 70% of respondents (in part reflecting a coordinated effort) urged UPN to keep the latest edition of the long-running franchise, which next month completes its third season."

Show your continuing support for "Star Trek". Show UPN and paramount just how popular it is. Head over to SaveEnterprise.com and join the effort.

Full story

--
CBG

Berman working on 'prequel' "Star Trek" film

2004-04-23T12:50:00.000+01:00

TrekWeb reports that Rick Berman is working on the next "Star Trek" film. He cryptically describes it as a "prequel".
A previous report claimed that the next Trek film would be called "Starfleet Command", which will, allegedly, be based in Starfleet academy.
Also, Berman confirmed that he is working on a non sci-fi series with co-Trek-producer Brannon Braga. This may mean that, if "Star Trek: Enterprise" gets a fourth season, they will be taking more of a back seat.

Full story.

--
CBG

A9 search engine from Amazon

2004-04-22T12:57:00.000+01:00

The world of web-searching has become a much more interesting place, in recent months.
A previous post of mine ("Search Engines") discussed some of the ways in which new search engines are trying to improve the experience.
A9.com, a new search engine from Amazon, has entered the "personalised" searching market. It comes from the company that leads the field, in personalisation technology, so it should be interesting.
Its main, advertised, feature is its "search history". However, it is also supposed to able to 'learn' from your previous searches. If this proves effective, I am likely to make it my main search engine.

--
CBG

The Enterprise Project

2004-04-21T13:14:00.000+01:00

Just come across another site that is running a campaign to save "Star Trek: Enterprise".
It is "The Enterprise Project". It runs a letter-writing campaign, similar to that of SaveEnterprise.com.
If "The Enterprise Project" provides a banner that fits on the panel to your right, I will place it there.

--
CBG

"Futon Critic" predicts "Star Trek: Enterprise" return

2004-04-21T13:05:00.000+01:00

This from TrekToday:

"The Futon Critic" is predicting that "Star Trek: Enterprise" will return to UPN this autumn, though perhaps on Friday nights instead of Wednesdays.

--
CBG

SaveMyShow.com features a Poll to save "Star Trek: Enterprise"

2004-04-21T13:00:00.000+01:00

This from the SaveEnterprise.com site:

"SaveMyShow.com is featuring numerous polls to save your favorite show . Go there today and put your vote in for Enterprise! WB's Angel has over 27,000 votes to save the show (which is awesome) so let's do the same for Enterprise!"

--
CBG

UPN affiliate poll on how many people watch "Star Trek: Enterprise"

2004-04-20T13:31:00.000+01:00

A UPN Affiliate is doing a poll on how many people watch "Star Trek: Enterprise". Head over and show them how popular it is.

Find the poll here - Z24TV.com

--
CBG

Jolene Blalock wins Spacey award

2004-04-20T13:17:00.000+01:00

Jolene Blalock (T'Pol in "Star Trek: Enterprise") has won a Spacey award for the second year running.
Last year she won the "Female Hottie" award, a category that has since been scrapped. This year she has won in the "Most Popular Female Character" category.
I can only assume that she has won for the same reasons as last year. I cannot see how her "character" could possibly be prize winning material.

Original report on TrekToday

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CBG

Article on the future of "Star Trek: Enterprise" at B5TV.com

2004-04-19T20:52:00.000+01:00

An interesting article about the future of "Star Trek: Enterprise" has
been posted on "Babylon 5" site B5TV.com.
I do not agree with his conclusions, but it is a considered view.
The popularity and success of SaveEnterprise.com suggest that he may have missed something. The passion of "Trekkies" is powerful and has proved persuasive in the past.
Also, read some of the emotional responses on the SaveEnterprise forums.

--
CBG

Search Engines

2004-04-16T12:44:00.000+01:00

There has been a raft of news, recently, about new search engines trying to improve the searching experience.
One of the ideas is "personalised searching". That is, the search engine learns about your interests, from the search results you choose. It then focuses its future results on those interests. A good example of this is Findory - a site that presents you with news it thinks is right for you.
Another idea is "social networking". This expands on the above idea, by learning which sites should interest you by observing those sites your friends visit. The most high profile example of this is Eurekster. However I find it clumsy to use and not as intelligent as one would expect. It would benefit greatly from the "profile" approach of StumbleUpon, which is more community-oriented. Also, Eurekster only draw their search results from Yahoo's directory, which is very limited.
A site I have found particularly interesting is Mooter. This organises the results into "clusters". For instance, if you search for "star trek", some of the clusters will be "Enterprise", "Voyager" and so on. You can then click on a cluster to see those results which are specific to that topic. This can be very useful when searches give you results from completely disparate topics.
Google, in my opinion, is still the best conventional search engine. However, I believe it is becoming less effective as the web grows.

Other links:
EureksterBlog
Mozilla/Firefox Eurekster toolbar
Search Engine Watch
My StumbleUpon profile

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CBG

Just a Geek

2004-04-15T13:01:00.000+01:00

Wil Wheaton has just made a great post to his blog. Actually, the good part of the post starts about halfway through, where he gives us an excerpt from his upcoming book, "Just a Geek".
Head over there. Just don't tell anyone else about it. ;-)

--
CBG

"Star Trek" weapon may be a reality

2004-04-14T12:45:00.000+01:00

From The Herald Bulletin:
"'Set phasers on stun' is a familiar line to any Star Trek fan. Almost four decades later an Anderson company is bringing science fiction to reality...
"Unlike the Taser device, which propels darts into a person and then transmits an electrical current through wires, StunStrike will discharge an energy field directly at a target."

-- CBG

Fill in on-line poll to save "Star Trek: Enterprise"

2004-04-13T12:59:00.000+01:00

Greetings, fans of mine. Your favourite blogger is back after the Easter break.

This piece of new comes from Tim at SaveEnterprise.com:

"USA Today is doing a poll on several shows including Saving
Enterprise. So please go vote.. This is important that we all show a
strong showing from the fans from now till Dawn UPN) makes her
decision at the end of April. You can vote several times a day... so
please vote..This poll was sent to me from someone inside Enterprise.
So it does carry some weight. Please vote.
http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/save-our-shows.htm"

--
CBG

Affiliate Claims 'Enterprise' Will Return This Autumn

2004-04-08T13:38:00.000+01:00

From the TrekToday site:
"Star Trek: Enterprise will return for a fourth season, the programming coordinator for UPN 11 in Seattle, Washington has told the Trek Nation..."

However...
"Until the network itself or Paramount Television confirms that the series will return, any news about Enterprise's future must be treated as tentative, subject to change by the network or the production company."

--
CBG

Star Trek news

2004-04-08T13:22:00.000+01:00

You will notice that I have added a "Star Trek" news section to your right. These headlines are kindly supplied by TrekToday.com and will allow you to keep up will all the "Star Trek" latest without ever leaving the comfort of this blog.

--
CBG

"Star Trek: Enterprise" support

2004-04-07T13:00:00.000+01:00

From the information on SaveEnterprise.com, it seems that the series is more popular than the ratings have suggested.
Apparently, UPN's 'phone lines were flooded by those calling in support of "Star Trek: Enterprise" on April 5th. As I have said before, I like "Star Trek: Enterprise" and the ideas behind it. I hope that SaveEnterprise.com can make a difference.
It has been interesting to see the way in which the "Star Trek" franchise has evolved. The writing has moved toward arc-based story lines - a natural thing to try, since the success of "Babylon 5". The stories have also become darker.
Let us hope that those in charge of the franchise are given the chance to see this evolution through. Let us also hope that they learn to stop using cheap tactics to bring in the ratings, such as showing as much of Blalock's skin as possible. >:-(

--
CBG

Best Trek Movie?

2004-04-06T13:04:00.000+01:00

Vote for your favourite Trek movie (forum registration required).

--
CBG

Reed, Trip, and Travis actors at Creation's Grand Slam convention

2004-04-06T12:53:00.000+01:00

Read what the Reed, Trip, and Travis actors have to say about "Star Trek: Enterprise".

--
CBG

Help save Star Trek: Enterprise!

2004-04-05T13:11:00.000+01:00

From the SaveEnterprise.com site:
"How YOU can help Save Enterprise! Enterprise is in serious danger of being put to spacedock for good after this season. And we're campaigning to make sure Star Trek: Enterprise can continue its mission."

This is a great opportunity to help ensure the future of "Star Trek: Enterprise" and "Star Trek" itself. Head over and show your support.

--
CBG

Deep Space Nine genius consulted about Star Trek: Enterprise

2004-04-02T16:33:00.000+01:00

STARTREKUK.COM News: "Deep Space Nine genius consulted about 'Enterprise'"

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CBG

William Shatner beams up story idea for Kirk appearence on Star Trek: Enterprise

2004-04-02T12:51:00.000+01:00

TGL has just posted this unbelievable piece of news - "Shatner's idea for Kirk appearance on Enterprise".
Bring back Kirk? Yes!
Let Shatner write himself into Enterprise? No!
I shall redouble my efforts to repair The Collector's phaser.

--
CBG

Open Source

2004-04-01T12:45:00.000+01:00

It sometimes amazes me how the Open Source model levels the playing field.
I wanted to see if I could compile part of the EPOS project with Mono. It should have been easy to test this with SharpDevelop. However, I came across what looked like a bug. I raised this on the SharpDevelop forums and, what turned out to be a bug with Mono, was then reported by a member of the SharpDevelop team.
Following the bug, I observed that it was fixed, within 9 hours, by non other than the famed Miguel de Icaza!
I look forward to the next release of Mono, which should integrate with SharpDevelop quite nicely.

--
CBG

An amusing piece of Star Trek news for April Fool's Day

2004-04-01T12:36:00.000+01:00

"Revealed : Details of the story-arc for Enterprise, Season Four"

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CBG

More on "Star Trek: Enterprise"

2004-03-30T13:17:00.000+01:00

Found this piece of news on "The Great Link" - "Enterprise talk from TV Guide's Matt Roush".

"Star Trek: Enterprise" is an interesting phenomenon.
The original idea was good. They saw the success of "First Contact". They observed the fans' fascination with Trek history. Hence, they gave the fans what they thought they wanted - a prequel series exploring just those issues.
Unfortunately, the thing that makes such a series interesting is the very thing they treat with the least respect - continuity. A fan's fascination with the Trek history presented in the series will disappear, if the history is incorrect.
As I have said before, I am a fan of "Star Trek: Enterprise" and I would like to see it continue. It is a shame that early seasons received such bad press. Season three, by all accounts, is quite good and reintroduces a threat to Earth of the scale that made "First Contact" so appealing.
I hope that "Star Trek: Enterprise" plays out its full seven seasons. If the staff can develop a greater respect for Trek continuity, I am sure they can pull it off. Just, please, dump T'Pol. It is embarrassing to watch her!

--
CBG

Enterprise is the 'New Coke' of Star Trek

2004-03-29T13:00:00.000+01:00

A new article over at "The Great Link" presents a well-thought-out analysis of the marketing mistakes made by the "Star Trek" management, regarding "Enterprise".
The article can be found here - "Enterprise is the 'New Coke' of Star Trek".

CBG

'Bring Back Kirk' Aims To Restore TOS Captain

2004-03-26T13:04:00.000Z

From the TrekToday site:
"Stating that "Kirk deserves a happy ending", a trio of fans have created a trailer in an effort to bring William Shatner's Captain James T. Kirk back for one more journey."

Bring Kirk back? I am all for it. Just do not let him write a script, or you know what will happen!

Find the trailer at BringBackKirk.com

CBG

Enterprise and other Cult-TV shows up for Spacey Awards

2004-03-25T12:51:00.000Z

Just saw this on "The Great Link":
"Enterprise and other Cult-TV shows up for Spacey Awards"
Support "Star Trek" and vote now!

CBG

Wil Wheaton dot net: Spare us the cutter

2004-03-24T13:25:00.000Z

Just came across this entry in Wil Wheaton's blog. It is an old one, but interesting.
It goes into detail about his reaction to being cut from Nemesis. Having read the entry, I can understand why people rave about his blog. It is very honest and gives us some insight into the relationships among the "Star Trek" cast.

Link - Spare us the cutter (August 14, 2002)

CBG

Comic Book Guy Atom Feed

2004-03-22T17:07:00.000Z

I have just added an Atom feed for this blog. You will find this to your right.
Please use it and inform me of any problems.
There is a known problem with the Firefox add-in, "RSS Reader". This add-in will display the list of entries properly, but when you click the link for that blog entry, an error message is displayed. Hopefully this bug will be fixed soon.
If you would like a good, open source RSS and Atom reader, try BottomFeeder.

CBG

Matchstick Kung Fu

2004-03-19T13:06:00.000Z

Your vigilant Comic Book Guy brings you another web gem.
Head over to Matchstick Kung Fu.
This is a very impressive Flash movie. Watch for the Matrix moment.

CBG

T'Pol's Eyebrows

2004-03-19T12:45:00.000Z

Jolene Blalock (who plays T'Pol in Star Trek: Enterprise) really needs to practice her Patronising Eyebrow Raise (TM). It is a skill no Vulcan worth his or her salt should ever be without. It is simply impossible for her to convincingly play a Vulcan, no matter how primitive, without it.
Any Star Trek series is simply not complete until we have a Patronising-Eyebrow-Raising Vulcan! It is the only form of expression they know.
Without it, T'Pol is almost as wooden as Chakotay was in Voyager.

CBG

ASP.NET

2004-03-17T12:40:00.000Z

Just had two days of ASP.NET training. Got to learn about some really useful tools:
Reflector
http://www.aisto.com/roeder/dotnet/
DebugView (many of the other utilities at this site are also very good)
http://www.sysinternals.com/ntw2k/utilities.shtml
SubVersion (an alternative to SourceSafe)
http://subversion.tigris.org/
Ankh (an addin with which you can integrate SubVersion and Visual Studio)
http://ankhsvn.tigris.org/
Cassini (a very light and free web server, providing all asp.net functionality)
http://www.asp.net/Projects/Cassini/Download/Default.aspx?tabindex=0&tabid=1
CruiseControl.NET (a Continuous Integration Server For .NET)
http://ccnet.thoughtworks.com/

I also got to play with a pre-release version of NUnitAddin, which allows you to run unit tests on ASP.NET pages and features limited integration with NProf.

CBG

EPOS Collective

2004-03-12T12:53:00.000Z

Here at "The Android's Dungeon", I have branched into the area of software development.
I have started to write a networked EPOS system for a small book chain. I also intend to use this software myself.
One of the perks of this endeavour is that I get to play with some nice hardware. I have set up two "show" tills, with almost all the components in black.
In tribute to the second most important TV show, "Star Trek" (my show being the most important), these tills have been placed in a "Federation" domain, and named "USS Prometheus" and "USS Titan". The names reflect the advanced nature of these machines. They have the most advanced peripherals available, also. Even black touchscreen monitors and black-finish cheque printers.
Each till is also accompanied by a rugged Symbol Pocket PC (PPT8800), with a built-in barcode scanner. These, of course, are named "USS Defiant" and "USS Valiant". These are almost as entertaining as a Radioactive Man comic.
These items will be essential for writing, and selling, my EPOS system. I have a much more urgent task, however. Using my superior intellect, I have created a hefty drawer, with a release mechanism modeled on that of the cash-drawer. This drawer will be used to encourage those I find annoying to leave my shop. I have positioned the drawer, so that, when released, it will encounter, at speed, those customers at the counter. To this end, I have boosted it's power. I am programming my till to trigger it's release when I scan the barcode of a comic, kept conveniently by my stool.
Soon, I shall say, for the last time, to all those who annoy, "Toodle-oo".

CBG

The Hobbiton Report

2004-03-11T13:31:00.000Z

"The Hobbiton Report:"
Read the results of this important inquiry into the events known as "The War of The Ring".

CBG

Comic Book Guy quotes

2004-03-09T12:36:00.000Z

On mordea.com, you will find random quotes of mine, every time you refresh the page.

CBG

For Sale By Mental Patient

2004-03-08T17:11:00.000Z

Fans of mine, your faithful Comic Book Guy has found another web gem.
Where else could you purchase a mental patient's itchy knee, or his border, where you can ask such questions as "Are you carrying any contaminated fruit in your tainted trousers? "
Visit http://home.total.net/~fishnet/ to make a bid.

CBG

Captain Kirk wants his bridge back

2004-03-05T14:20:00.000Z

I recently found a news story (yes, the story itself is a little old), which details William Shatner's ideas for a new Star Trek series.
Shatner's last major non-acting contribution to Star Trek was "The Final Frontier", for which he co-wrote the story and directed. This is agreed by most to be the worst of all the Star Trek films.
For this reason, I think that any possibility of a repeat performance should be erased.
My friend, The Collector, has given me the task of repairing the only functional phaser in existence. This weapon has been fired on only two occasions - once to stop Shatner from making another album and once to deal with that pesky Stretch Dude and Clobber Girl (it is on this occasion that it was damaged).
Given my IQ of 170, this should not take long. Once the device is repaired, The Collector will monitor the Shatner situation with vigilance.
Let us hope the phaser will not be needed.

CBG

foobar2000 Version 0.8 released

2004-03-01T17:20:00.000Z

More software news from your favourite celebrity, the Comic Book Guy!
foobar2000 0.8 has just been released.
From the web site:
"Foobar2000 is an advanced audio player for the Windows platform. Some of the basic features include ReplayGain support, low memory footprint and native support for several popular audio formats."

This media player has plugins sprouting up faster than tribbles!

CBG

Litestep Installer

2004-02-27T16:59:00.000Z

If you are interested, like me, in unlimited desktop skinning flexibility, then take a look at LiteStep.
The easiest distribution of LiteStep is "LiteStep Installer". However, be warned that LS this is only for geeks. Those of you who cannot name all the actors who have played Star Trek captains can leave now! Toodle-oo.

CBG

16bit.com: Toy Archive: Comic Book Guy figure

2004-02-25T14:25:00.000Z

For those of you who just need to see me all day long, you can now purchase a figure of me!
There are details over at 16bit.com.
From the website - "Every detail... is there, making this one great figure."

CBG

Fan Sites

2004-02-24T13:16:00.000Z

Fans of mine, let me direct you to some wonderful sites about me!
A number of them are featured in the list of links, to your right. Also, you find a category in the "Google Web Directory" devoted to me.
On many of the sites, you will find biographical information, pictures of my performances and you can even listen to my witty remarks. Ah, I never tire of them. You can even find some very fine portraits.
Please enjoy these sites, devoted to such a worthy subject. Also, if you find a quality site I have not mentioned, please leave a comment.

CBG

More rumours regarding the future of Star Trek: Enterprise

2004-02-20T13:05:00.000Z

This story at The Great Link gives us news that is not at all promising.
It has this quote from CBS chairman Leslie Moonves (who also oversees the United Paramount Network):
"So it's not like, 'Gee, if ENTERPRISE is up 10 percent between now and May, it will get picked up,'" Moonves was quoted as saying. "It's rather - you know, it's not a science, but it's, 'All right. How do we build Wednesday better?' 'Does it include ENTERPRISE?' Very possibly. 'Does it not?' Possibly as well."

The story also presents this information from an unconfirmed source:
...ENTERPRISE star Scott Bakula recently had a "secret meeting" with Garry Hart, President of Paramount Television Productions. As we reported last month in the second report from our scooper, Hart is reportedly in the corner of the struggling TREK series and trying to actively find a way for the show to avoid the executioner's blade. At the time our source told us that Hart may be waiting until after February sweeps to see how the show performs in the ratings and then possibly announce a change in ENTERPRISE's production staff. It may be that producer Rick Berman, the captain of the franchise since the death of Gene Roddenberry in 1991, may be shown the door.

Let us hope that, out of all the options considered, they choose to keep "Enterprise", and the future of Star Trek, alive.

CBG

BlogLinker

2004-02-19T16:59:00.000Z

I have dumped Blogroller, in favour of BlogLinker.com.
Blogroller does not allow link categories and, hence, provides an inadequate service. So, Blogroller, toodle-oo!
BlogLinker provides a much more flexible service, if a litlle more difficult to use. The formatting options are also much improved.

CBG

More on Pool-Oriented Programming

2004-02-18T13:28:00.000Z

The "Pool-Oriented Programming" thread on the comp.object newsgroup has continued to draw traffic.
It now seems that Pool-Oriented Programming (POP) is more akin to Role-Oriented Programming (ROP) than Aspect-Oriented Programming (AOP). The aim of POP is to implement the dynamic allocation of Roles to objects, based on the Pools to which the object belongs. Also, it is desirable to ship out new Pools (and therefore Roles) to be integrated into the system without recompilation. Presently, I intend to use the dynamic compilation capabilities of dotNET to achieve this.
I cannot work out, however, how the system will "discover" the methods provided by these Roles.
More as it happens...

CBG

Pool-Oriented Programming

2004-02-13T13:09:00.000Z

I have started a thread, over on comp.object, concerning a concept of mine called "Pool-Oriented programming". This concept seems to overlap with "Aspect-Oriented Programming". What do you think?
Links:

The original thread

It has also spawned two other threads - "Is POP AOP? [Was: Pool-oriented programming]" and "AOP [Was: Is POP AOP?]"

Mozilla Thunderbird 0.5

2004-02-12T13:38:00.000Z

:
From the Mozilla Thunderbird web site.
"Mozilla Thunderbird 0.5 Released
The Mozilla Foundation today released the latest preview release of its new email and newsgroups application, Mozilla Thunderbird. This release features Palm address book synchronisation, IMAP performance improvements, better LDAP support, enhanced Netscape 4.x migration, spell check/dictionary improvements, and many other bug fixes and minor tweaks."

This was released about the same time as Mozilla Firefox. Pay close attention to the installation instructions.

Mozilla Firefox - The Browser, Reloaded

2004-02-10T12:48:00.000Z

Run, do not walk, to Mozilla Firefox - The Browser, Reloaded: "Mozilla Firefox 0.8 Released! The latest release of Mozilla's next generation browser preview is now available!"
I should mention that "Mozilla Firefox" is the new name for "Mozilla Firebird".
Now, make my pants and split!

New commenting system

2004-02-06T16:36:00.000Z

A brief web search has provided me with another commenting system provider.
This is provided by Haloscan. You can find link at the bottom of the page.
Unfortunately, I have been unable to copy the comments from the previous system.
We shall see whether Haloscan live up to my high standards and provide a service worthy of my celebrity status.

CommentThis

2004-02-05T17:04:00.000Z

CommentThis seems to have slowed my blog to a crawl. Freakin' unreliable people!
Please stand by while I find an alternative.

Star Trek: Enterprise

2004-02-04T13:02:00.000Z

Why do people give "Enterprise" such a hard time?
The producers have taken on a very difficult task with this series. "Star Trek" has a history which is, according to one magazine, "documented better than some small countries" and an army of geeks ready to pick up any tiny continuity mistakes. Sometimes the writers take liberties which are simply too much (see my post "Stigma"), but normally they do quite well.
The primitive ship internals have been cleverly thought out, with a claustrophobic atmosphere like that of a submarine. The nervous political atmosphere, and the tension with the Vulcans, have also been depicted well.
In my expert opinion, the change they should make to this series, is to fire Jolene Blalock. She just cannot pull off the part.

The Future of Star Trek

2004-01-30T16:45:00.000Z

The rumour mill has been busy, concerning the future of "Star Trek" and, more specifically, its executive producer Rick Berman.
Make your way over to The Great Link to read more.

MSN Spyware

2004-01-29T12:29:00.000Z

I have vowed never to use MSN Messenger again. And I recommend that you never, ever use MSN Messenger Plus.
The author of "Messenger Plus" decided that he should be paid for his hobby of creating utility software programmes. The ignoramus then decided that the best way to do this would be to include spyware with his update to said programme. Hence, when people installed the update, they found that their web browsing was accompanied by 'helpful' popup advertisements.
This spyware was, by tradition, immensely difficult to remove. I wasted many of my precious hours trying to uninstall this pesky software.
Well, I for one, have had enough of Microsoft telling me when to upgrade and ignoramuses polluting my computer with unwanted, invasive software. I have turned to Jabber and the pleasures of the open source Jabber client, Exodus.
Not only can I find out exactly what Exodus will do with my computer, by examining the source code, I can still chat with my old MSN contacts, over the MSN transport. Be assured, however, that I will try to persuade said contacts to move to Jabber, as soon as possible.

Mozilla news

2004-01-27T15:50:00.000Z

Gather round, people.
Version 1.6 of Mozilla, the unrivaled browser, has been released.
Run along to Mozilla.org to pick it up.
I said run along! Don't make me get off my stool!

Stigma

2004-01-27T14:24:00.000Z

So... let us discuss the "Stigma" episode from the second season of "Star Trek: Enterprise".
It would seem that the writers are prepared to completely warp the Star Trek universe, in order to make a, thinly veiled, comment about AIDS.
Vulcans, the galaxy's most superior race, hold firmly to the IDIC philosophy of "infinite diversity in infinite combinations". They would never be so petty as to hold such prejudice.
So please, writers, if you insist on making social comment, do not warp people's perceptions of such superior beings.

Welcome

2004-01-26T13:57:00.000Z

Welcome to my blog.
I am the most famous character from your favourite show, "The Simpsons".
That's right. I'm The Comic Book Guy. I own the unrivalled "Android's Dungeon" store.
Please, no shoving at the back! You will all get to see me.
And if anyone dares to question my knowledge of Star Trek, I will squash them with my superior intellect.