OK, so I don't know if I've ever mentioned this, but I'm an unabashed Trekkie.  Not quite a garb-wearing, Klingon speaking, con going Trekkie, but a Trekkie.  Seen all the movies, watched at least part of all the shows, and will even admit that I LOVED Voyager for the first five or six seasons. There, I said it.  Not only a Trekkie, but a huge fan of the one show that almost NO ONE loved.

blah blah blah.

If you've ever noticed, my @yahoo email is "mollykazarra". If you noticed that, you may have wondered to yourself "where the fuck did she come up with *that* name?"  I got it from two characters from stories I wrote in HS.  Kazarra i got off a commercial for a Star Trek Christmas ornament (do they make those anymore?) back in zee day. Just heard it and loved it.  It's pretty, isn't it, despite it being the name of a Romulan Warbird.  (Molly was an immortal.  Yeah, I wrote fic.  Highlander:TS fic, even.)

Yeah, I named a character after a Romulan Warbird.  How hot am I right now?

Anyway, turns out I've been spelling it wrong, all these years.

From Wikipedia the All-Knowing:

Khazara - Commanded by Commander Toreth circa stardate 46519.0 in 2369, the Imperial Romulan Warbird Khazara was seized by Subcommander N'Vek and Deanna Troi (posing as Major Rakal of the Tal Shiar) as part of a plot to enable the defection of Romulan Vice-Proconsul M'ret and his aides to the Federation.

The Khazara apparently was a D'deridex class Warbird:

The D'deridex class, also known to Starfleet as a B-type Warbird, is a heavily-armed class of starship used by the Romulans in the mid- to late 24th century. This class was first encountered by Starfleet circa stardate 41986.0 in 2364 when the starship Enterprise-D encountered an example, commanded by Commander Tebok, that violated Federation territory while investigating the destruction of outposts on both sides of the neutral zone (TNG: "The Neutral Zone"). The Romulan class moniker was revealed in the episode "Tin Man". Powered by an artificial quantum singularity, the D'deridex class is substantially larger than a Starfleet Galaxy class starship, despite most of the Warbird being hollow, and believed to have greater firepower but a lower top speed and less maneuverable. The D'deridex class served during the Dominion War. On board, decks are lettered and sections numbered: some crew quarters are on C deck and launch bay 3 is on deck E, section 25. In real life, the D'deridex class was designed by Andrew Probert for Star Trek: The Next Generation.

OK, seriously? What kind of people write this crap? I'm a fan, but goddamn. That's some dedication right there.  I'm not sure if I'm unnerved or impressed by the sheer geekery that allows someone to write Wiki pages on Romulan Warbirds.

And I'm not changing how I spell Kazarra, even if it is kinda pretty with an H in it.

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I watch the news constantly. And I'm pretty sure it's because of that that I don't swoon over or get crushes on movie or TV actors. I crush on news anchors. BIG TIME! And not just for their looks, otherwise I'd probably be all over Anderson Cooper (because he is a good looking man). No, I'm wooed by big, sexy brains and wit and nerdy references.

So it should come as no surprise that I am completely and totally, head-over-heels smitten with Rachel Maddow. Yes, I am. I was sooo ridiculously excited when I heard she got her own show on MSNBC because I'd been impressed with her since seeing her as a guest on Countdown with Keith Olbermann (I love him, too). Also, I guess I really need to listen to NPR because she has had a show on there for, umm... ever.

Anyway, a few nights ago after missing her show (thank goodness for our new DVR) I was apparently thinking about it a lot, and I freakin' DREAMED about meeting Rachel Maddow. Who the hell dreams about news/talk show hosts?

Me, I guess.

I love you, Rachel!

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These jackasses always take up 2 outlets in already short on outlets coffee shops

Mac Users Suck

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Let's Have A Bite

I noticed there's something about my life that has changed dramatically since I started working and concentrating on my career. I’ve become a DULLER person or should I say an adult. Of course I’m old enough to become an adult but I’m actually referring to the kid in me. Every adult got a kid in him/her. But I think the kid in me is lost somewhere in the reality jungle.

It’s not that I don’t like my job. The problem is I LOVE my job. See.. that’s the problem. My attention now is focused on my job most of my days. Most of you reading this entry would think that I’m somewhat a weirdo who talks about nonsense. Well, maybe the weirdo part is true but that’s it.. I was a weirdo and I should always be a weirdo because that’s who I am (OK.. now you’re thinking that I’ve probably gone cuckoo because of stress in the work place. Will ya chill?? I’m still sane, OK.)

For those who just got to know me would probably think that I’m cuckoo but maybe not for my uni friends. Yup, when you’re in uni you tend to become a cuckoo but everyone seem to dig it. LOL :P. Very true though. I mean where else can you find a bunch of weirdos? It’s a UNIVERSE-city (university). Hmm.. Star Trek flashbacks are kickin’ in @___@. Hey, I am a geek. So chill.

So…. Back to the pressing matter at hand (OMG, sooo presidential. Bite me :P). Anyway, as I was saying.. when I was back in the cuckoo days, I dwell in so many imaginative and creative activity that well.. turned me into a weirdo. They say “misery loves company”.. or in my case, “weirdo have weird friends too ya know”. But of course, artists are lonely people who do not seek attention but just a place to mope. The funny thing is that all of my so-called weird friends think that I was a graphic student. So much for putting my degree course details in my profile page. Don’t you weirdos read a little??? :P.

OK, lemme get to the point here. I recall in those days I had a place to play and be imaginative. I’m not saying that daydreaming is an escape pod (OMG, soo Star Wars. *Ignore this geek goddess’s geeky words.*) but what I’m saying is that I need to be as imaginative as I was even more so now because reality seems to be grabbing onto me like a baby monkey hanging on to it’s mother (I sooo don’t carry around a monkey). I know it’s good to be grounded but still being in reality for too long without any escaping could make me die of boredom or worse.. turn me into a dull boring adult like everyone else. I SO DON’T WANT THAT.

SOMEBODY… R2-D2.. WALL-E.. BROODING POETS.. MISERABLE ARTISTS… ANYBODY.. HELP!!!!! 

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I needed a "disposable" e-mail address recently and found this service to be very handy.

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Need a quick laugh?  Check out this site....

http://failblog.org/

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Why are you loyal to certain brands/stores? What keeps you coming back?
Sponsored by Microsoft Small Business.

I would say Apple gets more of my money than anyone else. It almost wasn't to be.

I used my first Mac back in 1996 - I think it was a Performa 6300 - for work and wasn't all that impressed. The classic Mac OS (version 7 I think was the latest one) was extremely slow, I think we only used it for Photoshop, Illustrator and Quark Express.

When the iPod got popular, I refused to buy into it. Partially because what is popular in consumer electronics isn't always what is best, and also because at the time I used a PC for which Creative's software integration was second to none. I got their Zen Jukebox Xtra.

It was around the same time that, recording my own songs as a hobby, I started hearing about Mac exclusives Garageband and Logic Express being worth my attention. Not wanting to spend too much on a system I may not use, I went for the low end Mac mini system.

It was this that kick-started my love affair with Apple.

My Zen Jukebox Xtra started to show a few weird behavioural traits as I filled it - it, being hard drive based, skipped and went crazy if I walked too fast. I decided to get a flash memory MP3 player for my daily commute, and now using a Mac, an iPod Nano was the best choice. Plus Jess had one and loved it.

I have bought...

- A 1.42GHz PPC Mac mini
- A 4GB iPod Nano
- A 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro
- An 80GB iPod Classic
- A 16GB iPhone 3G
- A 500GB Time Capsule
- Numerous accessories and programs

... and been extremely happy with all of them. They might cost slightly more than their rivals in some cases, but the build quality of their hardware is superb, and their software is designed for people who don't want to dick around during set up or hunt for options in obscure menus to do simple things.

I do think the "They just work" mantra is a little inaccurate, as I have still had issues, but having used every version of Windows since 3.1, as well as different distributions of Linux, I feel I have a good grounds for comparison when I say Mac OS X is the best consumer OS out there.

Other than Apple, my spending habits are as you'd expect of a 28 year old guy with a decent job and no kids - my clothes all come from GAP, Old Navy and band merchandise stands; I drink Starbucks; I eat a lot of Subway and Chipotle; I get a lot of my entertainment items from Amazon.com. You are not a beautiful and unique snowflake.

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Recently, the actress who played Saffron on Firefly auctioned a handknit scarf on ebay for charity.  The winning bid was $255.00.

Some folks at work thought there was enough of a resemblance to suggest we could be sisters... not sure I agree with them, but still, it got me thinking.  I'm not an actress but I do knit and there are lots of deserving charities out there.  So here's the deal: donate $250 to either Children's Hospital or Climb for Kids and I'll knit you one of Jayne's Cunning Hats, or a Fibonacci Scarf in the two colors of your choice.

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GadgetTrak:Preventing Laptop Theft, Laptop anti-theft software for Windows, Laptop Theft Recovery So

http://www.gadgettrak.com/products/wi...

Great Idea. I may have to shell out for this, even addresses privacy concerns other similar software does not... The FBI estimates that 1 out of every 10 laptops will be stolen within 12 months of purchase. GadgetTrak for Windows PCs helps protect your system from theft by utilizing powerful tracking technology to locate the precise location of your PC in the event it is stolen. Whenever your PC is moved to a new location, GadgetTrak detects this and sends information directly to you including IP address, internal network address, host names as well as location and ISP data.

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Reason #24 to attend Mountain-Con:
Klingons and Hobbits and Pirates, Oh My!

If the title feels a little bit like "The Wizard of Oz", there is a reason (pun intended). It's that we have so much going on during our event! But before we get to that, here are a few announcements:

• Extended Deadline: Mountain-Con's latest discounted rate ($40 per adult/$20 per child for the 3-day admission) has been extended until September 12, 2008. Visit http://www.mountaincon.org/NOW to get your discounted tickets. (Prices increase at the door.)
  
• Banquet Price Reduced: We have decided to drop the price of our popular "Banquet With The Stars" from $100 per person to $85 per person. Remember, the Banquet includes a mix & mingle as well as a photo with the stars.
  
• Auditions Class: Richard Herd, who has been a working actor for decades, is offering a 90-minute class on how to audition for jobs. This exciting opportunity to learn from a "name" in the industry is just $25 per person (with paid admission to Mountain-Con). The class will be held Sunday, September 21, 2008 at 11:00 a.m.
  
• Salt Lake Area billboards: Mountain-Con has finally caught up with 21st Century advertising ideas and has purchased time on two electronic billboards this year. Because of the nature of these billboards, you can actually see our ads by going to the Digital Advertising Company's website: http://dacsigns.com/ ... one in downtown Salt Lake City, the other in Sandy. (Just click the appropriate link.)

Now back to the Klingons...and the Hobbits...and the Pirates... and the Vampires... and Wookies... and the Justice League... etc.

Mountain-Con has a wide variety of things to see and do...things that will fit every taste. The schedule includes Question & Answer sessions from all of our guests, panels on everything from writing to film-making to world-building (for gaming and/or for writing) to games, and miniature contests.

Some of the panel titles include "I Need a Hiro" (a discussion of NBC Television's Heroes), "Pirates in Science Fiction" (enjoying pirate-based stories in the science fiction genre), "How to Write Fanfic That Doesn't Suck", "Sci-Fi Jeopardy" (a Jeopardy-like game with science fiction based answers), "What the Filk Is Going On?" (a discussion of filking), and "POTCO and DDO and W-O-W, Oh My!" (a discussion of massively online multi-player role playing games and their appeal).

Additionally there are Photo Ops with the individual stars, special screenings of "Star Trek: Of Gods and Men" and "InAlienable", the Banquet with the Stars, Sarah Douglas's special event "Resident Alien" and Richard Herd's auditions class.

None of the aforementioned titles includes our gaming schedule, our media room or our anime room, each of which is running without a break from open until close. This year our gaming chairs are proud to offer some special gaming tournaments, including a "Magic: The Gathering" tournament and "Living Forgotten Realms". (See our website for scheduling information under "About Mountain-Con" and then the appropriately named tab.)

We'll also have our costume contest/masquerade, dealer's room, a "meet the clubs" section, KidCon (for the under-twelves), and either a dance or karaoke.

If tradition holds out, many of the attending clubs will be throwing "room parties". This will be a time to get to know the individual clubs in and around the area. It is also a time to meet new friends and renew old acquaintances. It is also another reason to reserve a hotel room. (wink, wink)

To recap:

Reason #1 to attend Mountain-Con: "Because it's just that COOL!"

Reason #2 to attend Mountain-Con: Brandon Sanderson

Reason #3 to attend Mountain-Con: KidCon

 

Reason #4 to attend Mountain-Con: "Location, location, location!"

Reason #5 to attend Mountain-Con: Kevin Sorbo*

Reason #6 to attend Mountain-Con: Cool props

Reason #7 to attend Mountain-Con: Club Fahrenheit 451

Reason #8 to attend Mountain-Con: Sarah Douglas

Reason #9 to attend Mountain-Con: Star Trek: Of Gods and Men

Reason #10 to attend Mountain-Con: "We are YOUR people!"

Reason #11 to attend Mountain-Con: Herb Jefferson Jr.

Reason #12 to attend Mountain-Con: Banquet with the Stars

Reason #13 to attend Mountain-Con: Fan Film Festival

Reason #14 to attend Mountain-Con: "Starfleet Academy" classes at the Wasatch Campus

Reason #15 to attend Mountain-Con: Costume Contest & Masquerade

Reason #16 to attend Mountain-Con: Brandon Mull

Reason #17 to attend Mountain-Con: Mark Goddard*

Reason #18 to attend Mountain-Con: Richard Herd

Reason #19 to attend Mountain-Con: Scott Schwartz

Reason #20 to attend Mountain-Con: Victor Brandt

Reason #21 to attend Mountain-Con: SHINY! (New Stuff)

Reason #22 to attend Mountain-Con: David Reddick

Reason #23 to attend Mountain-Con: Penny Johnson Jerald

Reason #24 to attend Mountain-Con:
Klingons and Hobbits and Pirates, Oh My!

* Due to professional commitments, Mr. Kevin Sorbo is no longer able to attend Mountain-Con. Also, Mr. Mark Goddard has a personal conflict with our convention dates. Please stay tuned to our Web site for up-to-date information on replacements.

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For starters... The answer is "no", it's not "Wicker Man 2: The Reckoning".  And "Yes", this post would probably best be done in an e-mail since it only really concerns two people, but I thought some of you would enjoy our good-natured ribbing.

Being geeks, we sometimes spend moments discussing the merit of the recent proliferation of comic book movies.  Some are well done and very entertaining.

Spider-man
The Dark Night
Iron Man

Most are just plain awful

The Hulk (the first one)
Superman Returns
Fantastic Four (both of them)
Catwoman
Ghost Rider
Daredevil
The Punisher
etc.

Well, today brings great news that in a recent interview with MTV, Nic Cage has confirmed the sequel that literally everyone has been waiting for... Ghost Rider 2.

http://splashpage.mtv.com/2008/09/03/ghost-rider-2-might-involve-church-for-european-adventure-says-nic-cage/

For some strange reason, Picklez has a love / hate relationship with the Ghost Rider movie.  He constantly rails against the film, yet he always watches it when he is at my house.

Personally, I would find it more entertaining if Cage was dressed in a bear suit riding a flaming motorcycle, but I'm old fashion that way.

Enjoy Picklez... enjoy..

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I'm un-following @mediaphyter on Twitter tonight.  She is interested in a lot of the same things I am, but none of my other 104 friends get a word in edgewise while she carries on targeted conversations in the twitterverse.  Also, with Twitter only giving me one page of tweet depth for the last few days (I'm not complaining about a free service, I swear!) I can't see anything I've missed while she has been the victim of a tweetsplosion.

Sorry Jen.

Mediaphyter

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I totally shouldn't be having a good day today.  I have a headache from hell, I haven't slept in days (and much at all in the last week), and my to-do list is much larger than it should be. 

But that hasn't gotten me down for some reason.  I hated going into work early today, but it was a damn good day as I was able to help over half a dozen people with their computer problems.  I even got a couple you saved my life type of comments, and those are the moments that make me feel good to be a geek.  I just got a push email on my Mogul from a lady who sent the kindest email about the helpfromageek website and how she loved it and it helped her so much.  :-)

Plus I have been on a bit of a banana kick lately.  Usually I only like things covered in chocolate, but in this case...

G:\Documents and Settings\JVAUDIO\Desktop\drink1

Cheers fellow Geeks!  Be proud!

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This is the book that started an obsession on the show yesterday….

While I was on holiday I read a book which was recommended by Craig from the newsteam. It was comedian Dave Gorman’s third book called “Dave Gorman: America Unchained”. If you’re looking for an entertaining, light-hearted read I can thoroughly recommend it!

Once I had finished that book, I decided to get my hands on the author’s previous publication “Dave Gorman’s Googlewhack Adventure” for two reasons. 1. I had heard about the standup show related to the book and 2. You know me…I’m a bit of a geek so I wanted to know for sure what a ‘Googlewhack’ is!

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Show us your latest purchase.

Too Human

It's alright... but considering it's been in the making for 10+ years, I expected more. As it is, it's just a slightly prettier take on Marvel Ultimate Alliance, replacing comic book heroes with Norse mythology. Lots of random mashing of buttons.

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Manga Me

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At lunch with some coworkers:

"Have you seen Trekkies? The Star Trek documentary?"

"Nope, haven't seen it yet."

"There's a dentist that has his office set up to look like a ship. And he wears the red Star Trek shirt and everything. Isn't that crazy?"

Everyone agrees it is, in fact, kind of crazy.

"But wait, shouldn't his shirt be blue? I mean, he is a science officer..."

Complete silence.

So yeah, I know what those colors mean. And I'll own it.

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Yeah, I don't normally do the OKCupid! tests anymore what with being a 27 year old and all. But Ted took this and then I took it. It turns out I'm a geek. No, really?

Your result for The Nerd? Geek? or Dork? Test by donathos ...

For The Record:

A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia.
A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one.
A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions.
You scored better than half in all three, earning you the title of: Outcast Genius.

Outcast geniuses usually are bright enough to understand what society wants of them, and they just don't care! They are highly intelligent and passionate about the things they know are *truly* important in the world. Typically, this does not include sports, cars or make-up, but it can on occassion (and if it does then they know more than all of their friends combined in that subject).

Outcast geniuses can be very lonely, due to their being outcast from most normal groups and too smart for the room among many other types of dorks and geeks, but they can also be the types to eventually rule the world, ala Bill Gates, the prototypical Outcast Genius.

Congratulations!

-------------------------------------------------

Well, since OKCupid! says so then it must be true. For the record Ted is also an Outcast Genius with a score of 73% nerd, 53% geek and 61% dork. It seems appropriate that he's a big nerd and a I'm a geek. He's book smart and I can go on and on about a few very specific things. ("OMG! In episode 47 of Star Trek: Then Next Generation Riker said..." "Okay, Mickey's a mouse, Donald's a duck... what the hell's Goofy?" etc.)

Cheers!

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