I have continued my trend of watching all Star Trek series from start to finish (in reverse chronological order for the series, not the episodes) and the other day I finished The Next Generation. For me, this series in particular was the best of them all. Not only did I grow up with it and it played a key role in molding me into the human being I am today, but it is a pivotal series in the evolution of the Star Trek franchise. I think it had the same effect on many people, old and young, and still does so to this day.

TNG was Star Trek at its best when it came to fulfilling Gene Roddenberry’s dream. Roddenberry wanted to create a utopian society. Although he achieved this in The Original Series, this series perfected it. Many people criticize TNG for the lack of conflict between characters. Hell, the show even ditched Gates McFadden for one season and put Diane Muldaur in to spark up friction. Unfortunately that didn’t work because this show wasn’t about conflict, and neither was its cast.

There was some sort of chemistry between the cast members that overflowed into their characters. It isn’t a secret that the TNG cast calls themselves a family and continues to be best friends. They communicate weekly with each other. They’re all part of each others daily lives in some way. I don’t think Gene or Rick Berman knew that the strangers they cast in these roles would click so well together and evolve into something more. Yet these relationships are seen on the show through their characters. Granted, the writers did a good job transferring these real friendships into the characters, but in some magical way the camera captured these emotions and feelings. It’s hard to describe but you can see it and feel it on screen. There hasn’t been a Trek cast like this before and there probably never will be. The magic was genial.

The spirit of Star Trek was well preserved in TNG. Not only was the show heavily focused on exploration and science fiction, but it tackled many ethical and moral dilemmas that still exist today. Part of who I am today I owe to Jean-Luc Picard and Data. In true Roddenberry fashion, Picard was the universal moral compass. Not only was he the eternal optimist, he also saw different perspectives to dilemmas that aren’t normally visible. He was the voice of reason. Whenever there was a large scale moral or ethical dilemma, Picard was there to solve it with his fair and just wisdom.

Data was there for the small scale issues (possibly the biggest issues of them all) that dealt with humanity. Roddenberry’s decision to explore humanity via a machine was probably his greatest accomplishment. The irony alone takes the cake. But over the course of seven years we see Data evolve from a child to an adult in a way that a human would. Data was the embodiment of innocence. If there ever was such a thing as a perfect human being it would be Data.

For a child growing up with this show it its clear what kind of personal impact Picard and Data would have. That’s not to say the other characters didn’t have a profound impact either, because they did. Riker taught me about duty and selflessness. Troi taught me about compassion and listening. Riker and Troi taught me about love. Worf taught me about honor, loyalty, and truthfulness. Geordi taught me about perseverance, overcoming obstacles, and infinite possibilities. And Crusher taught me about friendship, kindness, and strength.

I realize I can go on and on for pages about TNG, dissecting every season, every episode, every guest and villain. I can even babble about the behind the scenes crew such as Herman Zimmerman, Michael Piller, Mike Okuda, Rene Echevaria, Jeri Taylor, and more. But what matters is that Star Trek: The Next Generation set the standards for everything Star Trek that happened after it. It was magic that happened on screen and magic that happened in the hearts of millions. I think everyone should watch this series, whether or not they are a fan or whether or not they like science fiction. It will open your mind and possibly inspire you just a little to live your life as a better human being. As Picard said, “Here’s to the finest crew in Starfleet…”

I’m sorry. I have been irresponsible when it comes to social networks. Albeit I only use Facebook and Twitter I know that I have been selfish in doing so. Many of my followers on Twitter also are my friends on Facebook. By republishing 90% of my tweets as status updates I am doing a great disservice to those friends.

Unfortunately I am not alone in this crime. It seems like the vast majority of people with multiple social network accounts are doing this. It all boils down to laziness. We all want to publish our moments and thoughts immediately as they occur and we want these updates to reach the broadest audience possible. But is this the right thing to do? Surely we must have reasons for joining certain social networks, otherwise we wouldn’t be consolidating all of our feeds. As Maddox put it in a recent rant of his:

There’s a reason people choose one social network over another, and the rest of the world shouldn’t have to spend time figuring out the proprietary syntax of your stupid network. If people wanted to receive your Twitter updates on Facebook, they wouldn’t be using Facebook.

He brings up a valid point, and like every valid point there are valid arguments against it. Many people republish the same content on Twitter as they do on Facebook, Tumblr, or whatever other social network they use because they have different followers on each of those services. Granted there is some overlap but the reasoning behind linking updates across all services makes sense. If my goal is to share content with all of my followers then why should I deprive certain social network friends and foes of that delicious content? After all it’s nothing more than information exchange.

I only have two social network accounts: Facebook and Twitter. And there is a clear divide between the two. Yet I have been cross-posting updates on both networks without giving it a second thought. Sometimes I wonder why I even have Selective Tweets enabled since I end up adding the #fb tag at the end of almost all my tweets. Rarely do I update my status from Facebook directly.

And I have been wrong in doing so.

And I apologize.

For me Facebook is about my private connections where Twitter is about my public connections. I don’t add everyone as a Facebook friend. I only add people I know directly. More or less: I’ve had personal interaction with them face-to-face and I feel that we have good common ground. There’s something deeper than just “I met you at the club the other night and we exchanged a few words.” I’ve received a lot of friend invites the past few months due to my job as a somewhat public figure in a certain niche of the internet and I’ve had to decline most of them. It’s nothing personal. It isn’t that I don’t like you. I just don’t know you beyond whatever barrier existed between my work and you. And because I do have lots of pictures, videos, personal experiences, and other intimate details on my Facebook profile, I’m not about to start sharing all of that with the world (nor do I have the time or patience to create a bunch of different groups with different privacy settings to accommodate everyone. That becomes a chore and every time I add something I have to adjust that item’s privacy settings).

It’s not just limited to those people. I’ve denied old acquaintances: people I went to school with from pre-school through high school. We may have shared some classes together, we may have been part of the same group of friends, but if you honestly believe that sending me a friend request out of the blue after seven years of having absolutely zero contact with me will convince me to accept you into my Facebook friend network you are gravely mistaken.

But fear not, my deprived acquaintances. This is where my Twitter feed comes in. My Twitter account is set to public. Anyone can see what I post there, unlike my Facebook. Other than using Twitter to follow certain celebrities that I may or may not idolize, I use it to follow the people I don’t know intimately enough yet know through various avenues of life. It’s a good way to network with people and get quick updates and tidbits about their lives and current events. Twitter is also a great way to slowly break into the “intimate” realm of my life.

A quick pause here to address my use of the word “intimate” throughout this post. Yes I mean it in a very sexual and pornographic way.

Twitter is a great way to not only follow my thoughts and happenings but a great way to quickly respond to me and actually have your response read by me. Even though I limit my Facebook friends (I only have 200-something, which is considered both normal and healthy) I still get many updates going through my news feed at any given time. Many times I don’t have the chance to read them all. Most of the time I read the ones that are directly in front of me and respond if a response is warranted. But on Twitter any replies or mentions to me get read since I don’t get that many. And that’s the best way to get noticed. And possibly followed. And possibly met. And possibly Facebook friended.

So from here on out I’m going to be keeping in mind my original intentions for having both a Twitter and a Facebook. No longer will be two feeds be joined at the hip. Granted, there will be some tidbits that get cross-posted but not all. Here goes. I’m rebooting my online life and will be updating it in a more conscious, responsible, and mindful way. “It’s better for me. It’s better for you. It’s better for them. Think about it.”

I gotta hand it to her, Jules Clancy is one simple Aussie! She has compiled a cook book full of delicious recipes that can be made with 5 ingredients in under 10 minutes. That’s right. 5 ingredients. 10 minutes. Even the laziest and most kitchen-incapable of us can make awesome and delicious meals with little effort. She has made this cook book free on her website in PDF format (I personally got it printed and bound at Kinkos cause it’s something you are gonna want to keep). I suggest you check it out. Granted some recipes are a bit of a stretch (celery and cheese for example. Your ingredients? Celery and some cheese), but most of them are pretty simple to make, and they are healthy. So give the minimalist kitchen a spin, download the e-cookbook from her website. And while your at it, check out the rest of her site for some more recipes, tips, and info regarding minimalist home cooking.

I’ve watched too much of the World Cup. How do I know? I can still hear the vuvuzelas going off in my head late at night when I’m trying to sleep…

As seen on Kotaku: http://kotaku.com/comment/24194767/

@3:00pm

Customer: “Hey, are you open?”

Me: “Sorry sir, we open at 4:30.”

Customer: “Not even for a drink?”

Seriously, people conveniently forget their brains at home whenever they go out.

Really Metra? I mean, REALLY?

And it is waiting to be remixed

Artist: Stratosferic Band
Title: Splashdown
Album: Splash
Year: 1977
Produced by: Voom Voom Music.
Arranged by: Svengile.
Engineered by: Mr. Gatto & Co.

Did this about 3 months ago but what the hell, it’s still share-worthy: I don’t know how to play piano, but this is my first attempt to recreate a popular song. I’ve been messing around in my “studio” for some time. It isn’t perfect but it’s a start. Hopefully with some practice, practice, practice I can start making my own tunes sometime next year!