House Abukoff

In The Spirit of Reagan

2011-06-14T09:14:00.000-07:00

A recession is when your neighbor loses his job.
A depression is when you lose your job.
A recovery is when Mr Obama loses his job.

Test

2011-04-26T16:07:00.001-07:00

Just testing a droid-blog app

Poetry Book: "Shadows"

2010-12-22T08:53:00.000-08:00

SHADOWS

"Shadows"

echoes
reflections

changlings

things we might say in stolen moments-
breathless exultations
in darkened, anonymous booths

they are surrogate lovers
half, and half again brothers and sisters
blind couriers of our caged passions

they are who we would be,
if we could be

they are you and me

"Trapped in Glass"

Wind whips your hair-
in my dreams.

Outside,
the passion is outlawed.

Rain sprays-
slides over flushed skin.
Outside it is dry.

Inside we are one.
Thunder screams our passion
wind drives us against each other-

like thunderheads crashing together.

Thick, full clouds-
little flashes of what we will do
together.
The air is alive and tense.
The crackle of electricity-
magical-
once in a lifetime.

Storm trapped
in a glass booth
where we can exist-

"If We Could"

If we could, would we?
should we
can we

might we
be together tonight?

"Walls"

cold sweat on tortured brow
have to get out-
don't know how

eyes sting from too many tears
heart broken from too many fears

hands a bloodied, broken mass
and still I cannot break this glass

"Bolster"

At night, we are separated by inches that might as well be
miles.

The distance bolsters resistance to separation.
It twitches the fingers that rest at my side.
It teases legs that might just shift enough to touch.

The mouth...
closed and so composed...
tempts tempts tempts
to take and taste and live without this damned thing
between us

"Amaranth"

Crash of thunder precedes
the flash of lightning.
I kiss you before you scream-
take the storm from outside
and use it to fill the inches between us.

Miles disappear.
Days blend with nights.

Ante meridiem meets
post meridiem.
Stolen moments last forever.
Seconds become eternity.
Years of passion
in the wink of an eye.
A sigh that teaches
generations how to love.

White knuckles throw the watch

out the window.

"Caress"

My heart stretches-
diaphanous tendrils that reach
across the sea
to hold you
when all the children

claw and pull and demand
that you have no needs

"Game of Angels"

Who might I step into to find you tonight?
Where shall I search-
where have you taken my heart?

Where the moon reflects in a garden pool
and an angel dips perfect toes
and smiles as I look for her...

"Equinox"

noon meets midnight
miles become inches
keys become fingers

you are here

"Flight"

I can see in you in the sky...
cirrus clouds-
your hair gently curving, tickling me....
gentle summer breeze-
your breath, hot in my ear....

and as my wings spread
and I swim in the glory of the wind all around me,
I am happily entwined in your arms

"Dare"

When you sleep, I look through the glass...
thinking that if I could just lean close enough...

I might just touch your lips with my fingers...
kiss you in your dream.

Words that I wrote yesterday-
are they touching you now?
Is my kiss still fresh upon your lips?
Is my shadow mingling with yours?

And as I sleep, I feel your fingers on my eyelids.
I dare not open them, to find you not there.

When I feel your small hard body crushed against me,
your arms holding me and wandering hungrily,
I dare not stretch my arms to find them empty.
I will not move my lips, to find yours gone.
I dare not wake
to find you again across the glass.

"Whisper"

Little words tossed out...
quiet brilliance.
A flicker in the darkness that tickles at your senses-
vague lyrical exercises to you,
given casually for public consumption
to be forgotten when the next appears.

To me, they are proclamations shouted from the rooftop.
They are vows-
they are promises-

they are forbidden futures

they are
memories of love shared and passion spent

in whispers...

"Cloudburst"

I am a mountain
with peaks so high
I scratched a cloud
that stretched thousands of miles
to burst over her
and rain tears of joy.

"Through the Glass"

my fingers shake with anticipation
and distance-
they trace an intimate pattern
on the smoky glass between us
to match the curve of your jaw and glide over
the blush of your cheek.

I see you in the distance-
smiling and laughing
and living

without me.

You are close enough to entrance me
with your pretty perfume.
Close enough to excite me.

I know you can't really see me-
but if you could,
would you smile?
Would you look up with bright eyes

meant only for me?
Would you know what I am thinking?
What I'm wanting-

If I could touch you-
your breath would catch.
A sigh might escape-
a low moan-

my breath might disturb stray hairs

brushing the back of your neck

your hands would shake
with anticipation and distance-

if you could feel me through this glass....

"Lyrical"

Nights that don't end...
to my love I send

wings and rings and three kings,
she sings-

a vow-
a quest-
gentle rest-

I'll find your place
sweet embrace-

ecstatic hiss
sweet deep kiss

fly above
with you, my love

"Thermal"

Faraway sunrise
Wings spread as warmth rises up
Take me home to you

"Message in a Bottle"

These little words thrown so casually into the sea.

How they reach you,
and whether they find you happy or in tears,
I may never know.

But when the tide brings your name back
from far-off shores,
your words sing a song
that always gives me a thrill.....

"Dreams are for"

Dreams are for loving...
Dreams are for holding close about you on a cold night...
Dreams are for thinking and quietly sharing...
dreams are for her fingers absently tracing a pattern on my
arm...
and a soft kiss on the forehead to soothe a troubled heart

Dreams are for taking your heart and mind where your body
dares not go....

"Persistance"

Iron bars
Steel plating
Concrete walls
Miles and hours and kings and real life...
do not a prison make

"Hope"

Hope is the trickle that patiently becomes an ocean.
Hope is the voice in the darkness that will not be silenced.
Hope is the seed that pushes a sprout through the ice.

Hope is the smile in my eyes when I think of you.

"Equator"

Summer to winter
your voice on the telephone
changes night to day

"Solo"

What is she doing now
sleeping

laughing
crying
living without me

"Sleepy Eyes"

My mouth is dry
my face is wet
all too soon

the sun has set
will she come back tomorrow?

"None But You"

How many hands have I held
white-knuckled
straining
grasping

composing physical poetry?

How many hearts have I felt against my chest
heaving and desperate
and fragile as a waking dream
quivering
under my hand
and 'tween my fingertips?

How many tongues-

capable of such poetry that shadows shine within it-
have I longed to taste?

How many have I loved?

none but you
and only in my dreams.

"Kiss"

how much I'd like to move my arms
wrap them around
to brush your hair
and your bare white shoulder...

I'm paralyzed,
but for this rare kiss allowed and demanded
just my mouth
all hunger and poetry

deciding where to dance first

"Snowflake"

Crystalline
Pure
gently flutters and twists and dances
through frozen air
of varying density.

Unique
perfection
that falls unfettered to a snowblind world
of muffled beauty.
Pretty girl
catch me on your tongue
only before I sway and swing and circle
to within reach
I'm crushed by a boot.

"Have you ever..."

Have you ever counted your blessings-
been content with what you have-
have you ever been happy
with a warm house and memories to wrap yourself in-
have you ever been satisfied at the end of the day-
then cried at footsteps in the distance
that might be a lover enroute?

"Immortal Beloved"

You who have inspired the notes to spring forth
from my tortured heart in centuries long past...

your face, new in life just today-
look upon me with disinterest
because your soul has slept for a thousand years,

and you have forgotten

while I have waited and walked alone
and sung dissonant and discordant songs-

a scream of dispair pierces the night-

waiting with the eternal patience of sure and certain love-
and you no longer know me.
My young face lined and aged

because I have waited in vain.

lips that have given and received such passion-
closed to me now
and forever
sweet delicate ears
once so attuned to my voice

promise of forever broken
immortal beloved no more

"Daydreams"

Sometimes the best dreams are when you are awake-
real and teasing
and talking about things not impossible

"Not Impossible"

I am there
in your secret heart,
hidden behind things
you only think about
when he is gone.

Push aside what makes sense
and what you think
you should do

and what you think will probably happen

and dream of things
not impossible.

FIRST

"The Sweetest Sound"

It was as if a bird had flown into the room-
all cluttered with bits of junk that were all I had
when my name was first important to her
and I breathed
as if for the first time
how common it has always seemed to me
and magical it was
the first time she spoke it

"Strangers"

I have loved you for many years-
and woken up with you for the first time
we are refreshed and reborn
joined and chaste
shadow and substance
delicate as a rose petal in the ocean
and constant as the northern star

Sudden storm-
and we are naked in a downpour
The rain is warmed by a summer sun
sunlight glinting off pure water
Sunlight that filters through
weeping clouds
and makes your skin glow

i love you

"Rapture"

When light streams in
through windows
to enlighten darkened hearts

When laughter breaks
life's fevers

Kiss of new love
expression of new-found passion

hands that hold

a smile across a crowded room

time alone, at last
and sweet, pent-up truth!

rapture

ALL ABOUT YOU

"Word Wrap"

I wrap myself in your familiarity

taste the sweet wine of your words
and fall asleep
in your protective heart...

"Bound"

I cannot stretch my arm
without touching you

I cannot breath
without smelling you

I cannot look
without seeing you

I do not breath without your breath
or love without your heart

"Butterfly"

When the wind whips across the surface of my life,
it doesn't touch me.
It is weak and fleeting and impersonal-
it is powerless.
It may curl and swirl and blow things about-
small patterns that are here and gone-
but it is transitory and unimportant.

Not so the sound of your voice
that rewrites my landscape
and redirects the path that my heart follows.

But it is your touch-
sometimes so soft as to be thought imaginary-
tiny etchings like the tread of a dancing butterfly
that forever marks me
as yours.

"Inclination"

petals stretching
upswept
seeking
lean into the rays
that compel
and persuade
and pull

to encompass
and warm
as they take her in.

"Upstream"

Swimming upstream
through silent screams.
Swimming through tears

and all the fears
mother
wife
lover in another life?
You have permission to be weak
I'll carry you up the difficult peak

You can be human here
I will carry-
I will steer.

You sleep
while I drive
just concentrate
on staying alive

Cry and shout
and curse and scream
I will carry us both upstream

"Thank you"

How many nights
would I have just
drifted off to sleep quietly.
Pretending that love was not
something I wanted or needed.

How many nights would be empty
but blissfully ignorant

of just how GOOD it could be...
with you.

"Sweet Dreams"

Sweet dreams dear girl
are a soft pillow and a warm bed
sweet dreams are a kiss on your forehead
sweet dreams are our bodies

side by side in sleep
sweet dreams are my wishes for you

"Veil"

Forever, it seems,
I have gazed at you through a veil.
Eyes modestly averted.
Feminine shape concealed

(nearly revealed)
beneath waves and curves of white.

Hands that I have given myself to in my dreams
now pure and chaste
in white gloves of lace...

Body-
separated by a gulf of inches...

stolen moments
become stolen glimpses...

vows on cards
become vows in words

and with this ring...

"Dorian Gray"

The fleeting beauty of a rose
excites me not-
for it begins to whither and fade the instant it is seen
next to you.
The glory of sunrise is golden but for an instant.
Then it is past and washed in the dreary trivialities of
the day.
You, however, are new and unique and bold as when you first
graced my life-
for you are alive and ever-changing-
and I, through you, forever young...

"Give"

Look at me, so that I might see
take me in, so I can be free
touch me so that I might feel
love me so that I might heal
hold me, so that I might move
believe in me, so I've nothing to prove
take from me so that I might give

feed me so that I might live

"Rain"

Little moments of time
so many that I cannot count
minutes spent with you...
the uncounted moments of love and friendship
like drops of rain becoming an ocean.

"Liberation"

drive
fly
sail
clouds suddenly gone
I laugh at an old joke
that is new to you.

The fish aren't biting
my watch has stopped
we fall asleep together
as the tide takes us along...

"Aspire"

Aspire...
work towards...

dream of...
my dear, without your heart I have nothing to aspire to..
without the warmth of promise, my wings cannot fly.
For what am I without love, and what is love without you?

"Perchance To Dream"

I can almost see you sleeping
as I head off to work.

Quietly-
I watch your peaceful face.
Tousled hair.
Idle fingers.
Cold white shoulders.
Gently-
gently
I pull the blankets over you-
lean close to see your chest rise and fall.
Two sighs.

Yours in a dream.
Mine in a dream as well.

Can you hear me in your sleep?

"Renewed"

I know that he comes back.
Through the miles he travels each day,

he comes home to me.
My heart. My mind. My hands. My body.
Renewed.
Refreshed.
Re-loved every day.

Remarried today.

"Flat"

foreign
different
funny accent

we can quiet you down
we can flatten you

to the pretty girl
who won't leave my side...

thanks.

INTIMACY

"Intimacy"

Nails rake across delicate flesh
Cry

Moan
Struggle beneath strength
Sigh
Gasp
Simultaneous shudder

leads into morning

"Silence"

I walked her to her car one morning-
just a night watchman extending a courtesy to a deaf
employee.
But as she sat, illuminated by her car's domelight,
my eyes were drawn to her cream-white thighs.
With a wave and a quick smile, she was gone.
I watched in silence.

That same morning, some five hours earlier,
her small figure appeared out of the darkness and stepped
quickly to the

cold-frosted glass double doors.
I watched her open the door and walk across the lobby.
The same smile and wave that I had come to look forward to.
I returned the smile and wave.
We said hello-
in silence.

Her quick passage through the lobby leaves a gap in my
night.
Heavy, tangible emptiness.
Like the vacuum left after a great wind.

Perhaps it was her world of silence that fascinated me.
Made the quick glimpse of flesh more enticing,
yet more forbidden.
Because it was a part of her world.
Another world.
Like the wave and smile.
Communication across a bridge that I doubted I could cross.
In that brief moment, we shared-
something...
in silence.

"Cold"

All senses alert
Every nerve on fire
sensitive... super-sensitive
teeth chattering
frosted window,
never-ending winter....

thawed by the heat of my kiss
on the back of your neck.

"Hot"

Sweat glistens.
Cat flat on cool shaded rock.
Thin shirt, bare shoulders-
fan blows your hair....

I trace an ice-cube on the back of your neck and watch your
smile appear...

"Approach"

Your untouched body is as a statue
seated
swaying gently in the water
clothed only in steam

that rises to cling to you
as I would

the scent of anticipation
in the heavy air
might be just mine...
reflected

perspiration-
is it my desire

or yours?

the tiles are warm beneath my feet
as I step closer to bared shoulders

water slides across your flesh-
glitters with candle light,
reflected in my eyes

my mouth wonders-

are your lips parted?

I step forward,
one arm advancing before me
fingers close to you.....

"One Hundred Ninety-Seven Point Two Degrees"

Heated brandy warms my belly.

Fireplace and rug warm my hands and feet.
But it is your body, wrapped in terry-cloth,
next to mine that warms my heart.

"Two Backs"

Your nails rake
teasing
tempting

arousing
minute scratches...
just faint white trails down my back
lines of four
a hint of red
that drives me mad
makes me want to pick you up
and finish it violently
savagely

all I see are your legs
tanned and toned as if ready
to hunt me down and take me

your hair-
like whips all shiny and wet with the sweat of the afternoon
arms small and hard
steel cables possessed of the need to push and position
and manipulate
teeth bared

eyes closed
cheeks flushed with exertion...
It is what makes them,
for a time, a single animal-
unconcerned with time or place.
The joining.
The designed symbiosis.
The wall, hard and unyielding behind her-

Him,

hungry
and loving and needing-

her nerves-
concentrated around him.....

her hands-
claws grasping him
squeezing
fleshy softness

nails scratching
fighting
never resisting

his face-
nuzzled into her neck so tenderly
her teeth bite-
lips sucking
tongue tasting
so much need

churning
pressing
slamming

her legs wrapped around him
his fingers tease
and squeeze suddenly
he moans
she screams
twin explosions

breasts heaving-
a tear rolls across two cheeks...

"Breakfast"

White sheets rumpled-
Black hair half covering
sleepy eyes

A cold glass of milk.
Butter dripping
over three or four biscuits...
Coffee and fresh squeezed orange juice.
Brought to your bed-
with love.

The kids are taken care of-
the sky is clear for once.
Nothing is planned

except for us.

What shall we have for breakfast?

"Duet"

Hands that can grasp
and hold.
Fingers intertwine.

Nails that playfully scratch and tease and tempt.

Legs that can search endlessly
for the right shop
and the right gift...
they can finally wrap around
in ecstasy.

Arms,
so properly encased in cotton

through the day...
now a slight sheen of sweat and passion.

Two mouths,
with such a presentable public face...
interlocked
wrestling
wrangling
feeding and sustaining.

In love with you.

"Kisses"

Little teasing pecks
that slowly drive me mad

"Breakfast in Bed"

Sun filters in through gauzy clouds...
sheets randomly cover you,
drawing my eyes-

the world can't come in today.

Coffee and toast and eggs
and a newspaper and the dog
and my love...

"Round"

Fingers and hands that gently, aimlessly wander across my
back
a mouth that speaks pleasures
and kisses me like a lover when I come home
arms that encircle me and hold me and want to touch me
a body that wants to be held by my tired arms
wine that rolls on to my tongue and pulls me from the day

and into the night

"Landscape"

This is a landscape unfamiliar to me.
Lightly, tantalizingly perfumed
Hard underneath
yet soft and pliable...
quivering and responsive

as I nuzzle the nape of your neck

"Reciprocity"

Take
give
love
live

near
miss
touch
kiss

talk
lips
dance
hips

swoon
sway
don't go
away

"Elevations"

No peaks...no valleys...no ravines...no elevation, like a
man's chest.
How is it that you can speak so calmly when you do that?

tempt...tease...tickle
how your fingers... so anticipated in conversation...
can make me squirm.

"Between"

Rain woke me early...
You are still there, sleeping, trusting...
Yesterdays concerns haven't yet become todays...

The cat warm and serene between us.

"Woodpecker"

Just words, my dear...
as soft as the rain on the grass outside our window....
as soft as a whisper of wind that stirs your hair....
as soft as a gentle kiss on my forehead as I fall asleep....
as soft as quiet persistence.

The woodpecker working on balsa.

"Nutshell"

In our tiny little nutshell,
I am often struck by the distance between us...
How far you seem when you leave the room to make coffee...
and how close you are when the phone rings for me at work

"Wherever I Go"

Love never lost, or left behind.
Tucked carefully under my pillow
wherever I go

"Brush"

I brushed against you
You touched me silently
that keeps you with me

"The Knight's Lament"

It is a lady I seek-
lamented the knight.
A lady of grace and beauty.

Her love is as a sudden flower in the desert-
all full of majesty and brilliance and pleasant surprise.
Her warmth and love cometh upon me, reaching into my soul-
as deep as the pit from which a lady rescues a knight.
I seek her as a weary man seeks soft bedding at the end of
a day's toil.
Indeed-
this weary knight would require no bedding
for her love doth cushion the hardest ground and protect me
from the
most bitter cold.
Were my heart to stop its thunderous beat, hers would no
doubt sustain

me-
it beats for both of us.

But alas-
my heart doth beat alone-
for surely this lady cannot exist.

But when the weary knight finally slept,
he was awoken to see a sudden sunrise in the west
in the pitch of midnight.

'Twas his Lady, on the other side of the world-
and the oceans dried, and the continents joined so that
they could be
together.

"Trade Winds"

I know that the clouds drifting by me will find you...
the stars that wink at me will find you and pass on my
message of love...
and the bird that sings to me as I walk to work...

has learned his song from you....

"Hands"

They take me in gently-
grasp mine with longing and care

the same hands that clean the children
and create so much in the kitchen

with so little-
they reach casually to turn off the light
and pull insistently at my clothes...

"Good Night"

I give my life to thee, though you may not desire it...
Day to day and night to night
what seems best not always right

Remember that I'm just a man,
doing the best that I can...
Plans and savings not what we'd hoped...
no children...ever...but we have coped...
So, my dear, another day,
we'll face together, come what may......

Taking you by the head, my fingers entwined in your hair, I
pull your lips
tightly to mine. Giving you a long and deep good night
kiss. Crushing you to my
chest, running a hand down your back...

Good Night

ROAD TO HELL

"The Road to Hell"

I have floated about

touching once or twice those things
which seemed to speak to me-
not intending to change or leave impressions
I have accidentally loved
and unintentionally hurt
I have given and denied-
I have stolen and enjoyed-
I have whispered to shadows.
Put right and made wrong
all within the confine of a sad sad song

pledged and vowed and kissed goodnight
left behind wrongdoings
and whispered farewells vanish rudely
without so much as a puff of smoke
and I find myself in a bed of thorns
my road to hell
all paved with good intentions.

"Scream of a Rose"

A scream so faint
that no one heard it.
But it hurt me.
Ripped into me.
And when its bloodied claws were gone,
I couldn't feel anymore.
Tears that wanted to come out couldn't
because they had so many times before.

More tears,
laid upon last weeks,
and last months,
and last years,
would be indistinguishable.
and being unnoticed,
they would be wasted.
like tears in the rain.
A downpour that wouldn't stop,
Started by the hurt in her voice

as loud
as the scream of a rose just plucked.

"Waves"

From cool breeze of autumn
comes rain-
wind whips angrily
stinging icy rain

horizontal-
assaulting eyes that look balefully to the past
and hopefully to the future.

Tears lost in the rain-
icicles like daggers
directed at white
vulnerable
virginal flesh

arms alternately pull in vain at a shadowy lover
and push away deceased aspirations

waves that push and pull
and comfort and condemn
and kiss and kill

wave goodbye

"The Last Time"

Our warm house is marred
by a cold center
and so, clichd, is my heart.

Why did he not-
What did he mean by-
What possessed him to-

No questions,
since there can't be any answers.
No past since there isn't any future.

All there is-
is right now.
Knowing that tomorrow
I'll put him out,
and that I will never feel his gentle,
almost begging hand on my breast...

I touch him
pull him to me
hold him as tight as I can-
squeeze him until the old tear
is hidden by the new
and kiss him as if it were
the last time.

"Forgiveness"

Can one simply and easily return the spark of life to an
empty shell?
Take back the moment when life was taken.
Go back.
Do over.
Put right what once went wrong...

Or is change irreversible?
If history can be rewritten, and all sins forgiven,

will there be no difference between what was, and what it
became-
because I changed it, then changed it back?

Forgiveness is like divorce.
Agree to put an end to it-
but never go back
to where we were.
No matter our smiles,
the deed is done.

Once altered, a thing is never original.
Once sinned, never completely clean.
Once stained, never again white.
Forgive, but not forget.

"Words"

All I have are words.
That is all.

I have nothing else to fight with, or love with, or build
with.

Just words.
So what do I do when I run out.
What do I do when any words will do more harm than good.
What to do when the only one who won't forgive me
is me.

"Selfish and Impulsive"

I have not felt alone since we met.
The sun has not failed to warm my back.
The stars have not failed to shine a light.
My wings have not faltered.
But now, as the sun goes cold
and the stars dim,
my wings fold in on themselves and shred in the gale.
My heart looks in familiar places... and you are not to be
found.
What have I wrought?

"The Voice"

The voice that was once so strong
in the silence.
The Lady who moved continents
and rose the sun in the west
cries out-

"Flash"

I opened my eyes just for an instant....
I cut through her flesh... and I hurt her...
tears that fall like stones and burn down my cheek.
Laid bare her soul... and hurt her.
Secrets flooded out in a tsunami.... cities wiped out...
habitats destroyed...
thousands displaced...
and I hurt her...

"My Eyes"

Some things last forever.
Love never dies-
or does it?
Look into my eyes.
You can travel in time...
I'm no longer certain if it will last forever-

or if it died more than a year ago.
All the answers are in my eyes.
And if you look close enough
you'll travel back to where it started...
I wish you could tell me if I killed it then.
if-
if you could even change it somehow.
Then my eyes wouldn't show a trace of happiness,
a year of pain,
and a flicker of hope.

I wish I could go back.
Back to happiness.
Before I needed hope.
Before I needed help.
Before I needed you-
to look into my eyes.

"The Loneliest Sight in the World"

He drove down her street for the last time,
knowing that he was no longer welcome there.
The sight of her house,
lit for a moment by headlights of a car turning the corner,
showed the blue, lace-trimmed curtains on the kitchen window
that they had picked out just a few weeks ago.

That sight, glimpsed through a rain-streaked rear window,
while driving away at one-thirty in the morning,
was quite possibly

the loneliest sight in the world.

He stared at it (for probably too long), until a tear ran
down his cheek
and stung momentarily.

She stared at it (for probably too long), until a tear ran
down her cheek
and stung momentarily.

It was still visible.
The car that had been so much a part of their happiness.

She grabbed a corner of the blue curtains
and wiped absently at a bit of dirt on the window.
The raindrops running down the window
mirrored her tears.

Tears that had refused to flow even as everything had
fallen apart.
As the natural abrasiveness
that had always added spark to their relationship had
imploded,
leaving a vacuum in the small house.

The small house that would never see him again.
The tears had begun to flow as he pulled away from the curb.
The tears that blurred her sight of his car turning onto
another street.

That sight, rain-streaked and tear-streaked,
that brought anger and pain
and self pity,
was quite possibly
the loneliest sight in the world.

"Tossed"

Sweet desolation.
Stars just visible behind the clouds.
The moon is a gauzy, ringed ball that spreads pale light
before me.
A soft breeze brings small waves lapping at the hull
while my sails flutter and begin to fill.
My small craft slips into the night.

Will the gaze of the moon turn cold
when the wind picks up
and I'm swept along on a wild current?
My sails are torn from the rigging and the deck tips wildly.
My home crashes onto its side.

Wood groans painfully
and breaks across my shoulders,
bringing me to my knees.
The sea tries to swallow me.

The spray slams into me, blinding me.
Water and noise.
Pain and insanity.
I'm alone.
Bewildered.
Lost in a dark storm.
And I've lost my heart in it somewhere.

"The Tree"

The tree doesn't care that I loved you.
It doesn't care that you're gone.
But my tears will help it grow.

"Final Sigh"

If the echo of a memory
of a whispered secret love

died in solitude, with none to hear the plaintive gasp
and final sigh
as life slipp'd away...

would it make a difference?

FUN

"Cat's Paws Clause"

What is the cause
for my cats paws?
To give a place for claws
that know no laws.
No pause, she claws-
cat's paws clause!

"Paradox"

What a tangled web we weave
when time travel plots we do conceive.
It is a little hard to believe
critics I cannot deceive
grammarians read through and grieve
at tangled tense- an old pet peeve
But through a plot hole I quickly leave
with a pair o' docs up my sleeve.

"Grammatical Naughtiness"

Consider Shakespeare's beast with two backs
as mundane trivialities fall between the cracks
I am we and she is he and I am you and you like me too
not quite the beatles, but like pins and needles
how they prick and tend to stick like some memorable guitar
lick
at midnight far too hot to sleep and through your brain
ideas creep

take a grammatical sabbatical from problems symptomatical
try to hide and take a ride way away from the dark side
oceans blue and I love you, these are things I like to do
seems a crime to try to rhyme
your place or mine, that would be fine...
this or them, roses, long stem
is, are, gone too far
now I say, too much play, forgive me while I go away
I've just gone to the potty, miss
too much grammatical naughtiness...

"Out Damn Spot"

I'm not playing, you know.
It comes back every day, after He has left... though only
when the sun is shining.
Starts out low, on the floor.
No matter how I attack it, it only runs away.
On to the wall, and I jump as high as I can as it runs up
and across.
Paws and claws...it only runs away.

Finally just before He returns, it disappears... but it
will come back
tomorrow.

Out damn spot

EXPERIMENTAL

"Little Friend"

Taken from the pack of kittens...
two years past the cute stage.
Leaving three kittens of her own
somewhere else-
forgotten?

Mother to me,
as much as four paws and a small body would let her.
So soon-

too soon,
taken from home.
Does she know why?
Does she wonder why?
She'll worry more about my tears
than what might be wrong with her...
and my little friend-
what does she now face without me?

"Selective Amnesia"

and memory's a lovely thing
that drips honey on stale facts
and makes them sweeter
than they truly are-
so is selective amnesia
to remove the stench of places past
that demand my return
close the blinds on logic and sad assurance

and know
that it is better to travel hopefully
than to arrive

"You'll Be Me Someday"

sarcastic children pass it by in the street
too smart for their own good-
supreme and omniscient in their ignorance

a stormy night leaves it scatterbrained-
its once proud and pristine features
now slimy and wracked with undefined ills

and somehow it will survive the night-
sunlight will kiss it alive again

silent in its survival
a smile of knowing-

you'll be me someday

"Rose in the Ghetto"

Splash of red against the grey
discarded love left vagrant in the alley-
did you once convey a girl to and fro
through old papers and empty days?

Were you hopes and dreams and temptation
all wrapped in a pretty package-
only to be added to the rubbish one day?
How close have you been to passion?
How far behind has she left you?

"Battered, Bold and Beautiful"

A noble enterprise started on humble ground
in forgotten places
climbs on wings of determination
fueled with the blood of long lost heroes
a long road that brought her out
pushing back
the final frontier
to kiss the edge of forever
and now-
far from that humble start

fighting for home and hearth
held together by passion
and need
battered, bold and beautiful

"WarHorse"

Steel
Fusion Drive

Torpedoes
Disruptors

Leather
Horses
Crossbows
Swords

Kings born in nomadic flight.
Bloodlines deposed-

cut short
Birthright stolen

Empires forged
in steel and struggle.
Expand to survive.
Far flung adventure and conquest

Marauders
Hordes

Raiders

Sharpen their teeth before going into battle.

"Thaw"

Sunlight on black hair
desire blossoms again
we welcome spring thaw

"Thump, Thump"

The beat that calls my fellows
to my side
and takes me from my wife
it guides my vessel straight and true
across unmarked seas
Gives my heart pace to push across unknown fields.

and raise my sword alongside a thousand others
into glorious, bloody combat.
The same beat that finally carries me home to Valhalla

"Spark of the Gods"

After image
Glorious memory
Ode to joy

"Freude, schner Gtterfunken,
Tochter aus Elysium!"

My soul
My heart
has memory
when my ears can no longer hear
When I can feel the passions flying open from my heart
but can no longer hear their song

I can order and compose
and try to recall their individual notes
as if they were errant children
or wayward locks of hair in the wind...

"Freude, schner Gtterfunken,
Tochter aus Elysium!"

But will result equal intent?
The answer lies in unborn ears

and unborn hands across the years...

"I Walk Through Fire"

Your scent inflames me every day
and guides my heart every night.
Where are you?

The stars fade with sadness.

Clouds weep for your absence.
The day is dark
as is my heart.
It's flame has gone into the night.
Where are you?

The empty street cries.
Volcanoes go cold and die.
The river of blood ceases it's rush.
The greatest mountains are easily crushed.

You are no longer at my side.

I walk alone.
No honour
No glory
No love

I walk through the fire alone.

"Orion"

Crouched.
Tensed.
Hidden and lurking.
Outstretched wings-
fiery tips

slips through Orion
hunting packs of three

conveys thou and thee
through a cold and vacuumed sea
tigers. dragons. ships.

blips on the scope.
vanquished
unclean.
Give them rope
just enough to hang...
we heard the weapons-

fire sang.

I sang my love for thee
a kiss goodnight.

Orion slip'd away

"Recitations of a Ghost"
(Farewell, luminous beings)

Odd how one becomes accustomed to those things
which at times
can be frustrating or frightening.

They built their structure atop my home,
confusing me with their maze
and hurting me with their burning, blinding light.

Perhaps it is their life-force

which attracted me to them.
The inner light that doesn't harm.
Damn frustrating of them to run in fear
when I tried to get close.
How easily they forget
that I was once one of them.

Now I have to wonder if I was responsible for their leaving.
Wonder if they're gone forever,
leaving me alone in this dead structure.

Wonder if I'll ever again know
the love that only one of them could offer.

Farewell, luminous beings.

"Beyond the Farthest Star"

The stars disappear behind me like years.

Years since I've been 'home'.
Since I've seen the sort of things that so many of you take
for granted.
Lightyears behind me,
I can almost recall a family.
A wife.
Children?

Now they're gone.
Scattered among those of you who only know the world of
families.
Wives.

Children.
A day that begins with a kiss or maybe a fight.
End up at night making love.

My day begins
with the smell and taste of too many cigarettes yesterday.
Hours and lightyears later,
as the cargo that is my livelihood
slips through the darkness,
a freeze-dried steak is my dinner.

My goodnight kiss is the last receding star that shines in
my eyes as I fall
asleep.

A hundred lightyears from the last stop,
and I forget friends and places.
At a thousand or so
the loved ones are gone
as the last familiar clusters of stars fades into obscurity.
A galaxy that fades into obscurity.
A life that fades into obscurity.

As it all recedes
and the moments and memories and feelings
vanish with the stars,
I just barely feel for myself.
And I have to wonder if I'll feel anything
beyond the farthest star.

"A Voice in the Darkness"

There was no farthest star, it seemed.
No end to the random scatter of lights
that give their transitory comfort.
They appeared infrequently.
Sometimes the distance between them
was so vast that I thought this must be the last one.
Each carried a smile, and a reminder of things past.
Things better.

And there is the voice,
crackling through my speaker.
A voice speaking out of loneliness.
Speaking of home.
A voice from home,
that filled the void within me.
A voice of love and friendship.
It is just a voice that I cannot touch or embrace,
but simply talk to.
But there is nothing simple about her.

She is what I might be.
Whom I might be with.

There is also the subtle and powerful change in space
around my tiny ship.
Or perhaps the change is within me.
The same star has now visited me twice.
I seem to move,
but I've traveled no further from home.
No further from love.
Time, which I had grown to hate, for its feeling of
lingering death (or life)

no longer drags me along inexorably.
Time stands still.
The same star smiles upon me.
And the voice-
the woman
still talks to me,
bringing me closer to home.

"Another World"

Like another world
Waves settle and birds come back
Submerged eyes open

"Four Parallel Razor Cuts"

Nine days out with a crew of ten,
and noone seems to recall the five

who had been found dead upon reaching escape velocity.
Vital components of their personal life support systems
sliced to ribbons.
No clues.
No weapons.
Just four parallel razor cuts.

Twelve days out, and two more are forgotten.
Two bloody messes in their sleeping compartments.
No clues.
No weapons.

Four parallel razor cuts.

Three men left eyeing each other.
The next man was forgotten
as his corpse was towed to the spacecraft.
Helmet visor impossibly, fatally shredded.
No clues.
No weapons.
Four parallel razor cuts.

I can't seem to recall what happened to the other.
Was there another man on this mission?
For that matter, what is the mission?
What is my purpose out here?
Nothing more specific
than taking these claws and cutting off this uniform
to get to my skin
and leave four parallel razor cuts.

"Touch Me"

Blackness

v.o.
"there is nothing
but the sound of your voice
as I crawl slowly from
the womb of sleep"

a single red rose petal drops from above, spiralling down.
It is joined by another, and then another. An unending
series of single red rose petals drop, spiralling from
above.

v.o.(cont)
"and even as I push through a threatening world"

the darkness fades to:
moving through a forest, at superfast speed, we see animals
darting to the left and right, and an arrow comes from
behind us, spinning as it flies into the distance. Then a
horse and rider follow the arrow. The rider is tall, and
nothing but a black cloak and cowl that flaps in the wind.
The black cloak grows, until it is all we see.

v.o.(cont)
"and the slings and arrows that we all suffer do their
worst"

From the darkness, a white, luminescent figure seems to
struggle and flail helplessly as the shadows of swords fall
upon it, and arrows that are only wisps of black smoke
shooting through the figure

Over this scene, we see another petal drop. Our view slowly
swings up to reveal another petal drop directly at us. It
drops through the camera. The camera follows it down, to
show-

v.o.(cont)
"all that touches me"

Alone in the darkness, a young woman, with shoulder length
red hair, wearing a simple dress, smiling at us as the rose
petals continue to gently drop around her face.

v.o. (cont.)
"is you"

"Love All Around"

We met at work.
The storm broke a week later.
It was a desperate, wonderful summer spent in love.

And as summer turned to fall,
we moved in together.

Neither of us had been so happy for so long.
To finally be a couple.
In love.
Together.
Exploring life and enjoying the magic of love all around us.

Halloween saw the end.

A telephone call a few minutes before midnight told me
his motorcycle had been broadsided in an intersection.

Perhaps if he had been wearing a helmet...

It was a year later when I finally stopped crying into my
pillow.
I was still withdrawn,
and felt no interest in OTHER men,
but the tears had stopped.

The sharp pain in my heart was just an aching throb.

Seeing the love all around me
didn't hurt so much.

And, when I finally believed that I might love again,
it happened.

He happened.

Crossing railroad tracks on a shortcut to my apartment.
Ten minutes from solitude.
Coming down a gentle grassy slope.
Someone shoved me from behind,
and my life ended.

Rough, unfamiliar hands.
My arms pinned underneath me.
Legs shoved apart.

And with an animal grunt-
intrusion.
Violation.
And I couldn't stop him.

I had no strength.
No will.
No identity.
I was no longer a woman.
Not even a person.

Just an animal.
A thing.
And I couldn't stop him.

Pushing.

Thrusting.

Splitting me apart.

I couldn't stop him.

Five years later,
and I realize now that you never really recover.
Worse for me,
since every day I have to look into the young eyes
of the product of His attack.

A child's eyes filled with love,
but the same deep blue

that I saw in His.
I can see Him in my baby's eyes.

So every glance filled with love terrifies me.
Like a gentle grassy slope that I can never look at.

And even the streets that I walked six years ago
when I was in love.

And love was all around me.

VAMPIRE OF THE HEART

It is difficult to sit down and try to reconcile these
memories with what makes sense. With what one might expect
people to do. With what you might believe. But this is how
it really started. I was stationed in the military, in
Spain, and I met a girl. As it turned out, she was a
married girl. When I found out that she was married, I was
so torn between love for her and determination to not ruin
a marriage that I neglected my duty. Plain and simple.
Marlene.

I was ashamed. Not ashamed that I loved her. She was a good
girl to love. I wasn't even ashamed that she was married.
She didn't wear her ring because& she gave a reason, but it
was honestly lost in the pain of knowing that I loved a
married woman. I wanted her, loved her... needed her& and
couldn't have her. It tore me apart. I didn't want to eat
or sleep or do my work. And that had been the end of my Air
Force career. I left her alone. I didn't pursue her. I
didn't try to sleep with her. No, I did okay there. What
shamed me was that I couldn't handle it. I loved her so
much, and was so in love& and I couldn't have her.

But that is past now. I became a civilian. The
uncomfortable silence from family who don't know what
happened, and had the grace to not ask... that has faded.
And when I thought I was past her, and I could pretend that
I hadn't wasted almost ten years of my life- she called.

It was a quiet Sunday morning, and I had breakfast and a
newspaper and nothing else. The phone rang, and I was
annoyed because someone was bothering me on a Sunday.

A voice from the past. "Kesla. Kesla... we've moved to
Illinois." I honestly do not remember the entire
conversation. I knew that she was still with Daniel. I
thought, behind the excitement... why is she calling me? I
don't need to see her with Daniel. I mean, that almost
killed me once. Why oh why would I want to go under that
knife again?

"Just come out for a week."

What I found was& not entirely unexpected. Daniel was away.
Out of town. Marlene was convinced that he was straying. So
I stayed with her, in a small house on the outskirts of
Rantoul. She never made any advances on me. She never
hinted that she was interested in straying herself, and I
would not have had anything to do with that anyway. It
would be just as wrong as it would have been in Spain.

But there was her perfume.

I don't know precisely what it was called. Jasmine&
something. In truth, the name was not important. But it was
her. It smelled like her. And on those few occasions that
had her out of the house, and I was left to my own devices,
I felt an irresistible compulsion to go to her vanity and
smell the perfume. I felt guilty doing it. I felt like a
voyeur doing it. I felt dirty. But the Jasmine smelled of
love and life and pretty feminine things & and it smelled
like her. And when time finally ran out on the little week
away from reality, I could still smell the Jasmine. It was
in her jacket... and in her hair.

So when she took me to Rantoul's small airport, she wore
the Jasmine, because I had told her what it did to me. We
took time for coffee and sweet rolls before my flight. "I
love you...", I said. Now I look back at the words with
almost hatred. "I have never felt like this& "

She was small and pretty and powerful, and I had spent so
much time wanting her that I sometimes felt as if there
never had been a life when I didn't want her. Sitting here
in the airport waiting for the flight back to California,
it was possible to pretend that a string of disasters had
not preceded this lovely spring day.

I could forget meeting Marlene in Spain. I might even
forget falling in love with her. Then she smiled that
smile, as the small airport in Rantoul started to wake up
with arriving families, and opening shops, and flight
announcements. That smile that had torn my heart in two
when I found out that she was married. And as she left, I
saw her go back to the little red car that she had always
driven too quickly, with Tom Petty always playing far too
loudly. She yelled out across the tarmac. "I love you!"

I felt something then. A twinge. Something was not right. I
was not meant to leave women at airports as they shouted
their love for me. I felt, in fact, self-conscious. I
didn't feel right& but I had to answer her. "I love you
too!" And I felt foolish. But the Jasmine that I now
smelled on my jacket clouded all of that, and doomed me to
my fate.

Six months later, and another Sunday. Another phone call.
Daniel was gone. Gone. And she was there. Alone. Single. It
seemed like a good idea. It really did. I loved her. I
remember thinking that I didn't even need to hope. because
I had her. I had done my share of hoping and wanting. I
could be one of the people who had someone that they could
love, and that loved them back. I thought it was okay. I
really did. So I took the plunge. I packed everything into
the Trans Am and drove two thousand miles to be with her.

It all sounds ridiculous now. But at the time, it seemed
like everything had finally fallen into place. I will not
bore you with details of the drive across country. The
Rocky Mountains in November. Snow. The snow continued
through to Illinois. It was very cold, especially if you
are used to California.

I arrived in Rantoul at seven at night. Marlene was at this
grocery store she worked at. She came out of the office, to
the right as you walk in the front door. She saw me and ran
to me. She actually jumped over the counter and hugged me.
That was the last thing that happened that I had actually
expected to happen.

We drove in that little red car. There was no Tom Petty.
There wasn't even the Jasmine. I was disappointed. But
there was so much more to come.

We were meeting a friend at a 'sports bar'. I'd never been
to one before, and I've never been to one since. While
Marlene grabbed a beer, I asked the kid behind the bar for
a martini. He answered 'uh, most folks drink beer here.'
And I had to explain to him how to make a martini.

When I finally had my martini, I found Marlene and her
'friend' (his name is Preston, by the way), sitting
together in a booth. They were nearly on top of each other.
It was almost too much to believe. She had asked me to come
out to live with her. The day that I left California, we
had spoken on the phone about our plans. What we were going
to do with the little apartment that she had moved into.
The window that led onto the roof, and the fact that it was
great to bring sandwiches and beers up there, with a
stereo. I didn't know what the hell was going on. So I sat
down, and tried not to stare at them. They were pawing each
other as if- as if I wasn't there. So I lit a cigarette and
tried to shrink back in my seat.

Marlene didn't try to explain. At the time, I hated her for
it. I wanted to-. Well, I didn't want to kill her. I am not
that kind of guy. I just didn't understand why she would
ask me to come to her. Two thousand miles, leaving behind a
pretty comfortable life in California just so I could see
her paw her 'friend' in a crowded sports bar. We stayed
there for an uncomfortable hour, and then went back to his
apartment. He disappeared briefly into the bedroom, and
Marlene looked at me. I looked at her, and I wanted to ask
her what the hell was wrong with her. But I couldn't. I
saw, behind her, a yellow refrigerator that was plastered
with magnets and pictures. And from the little kitchen
table, I could see pictures of the two of them together.
Pictures from the summer time. While we had been on the
phone, chatting and romancing and planning for a life
together, she had been sitting in a park with him. Pawing
and flirting and doing just what they had done in front of
me an hour ago.

So I didn't ask her. I didn't really think that there was
anything to be said. I let her take me to her apartment,
while she spent the night with Preston.

I rarely saw Marlene after that. I stayed in her apartment
as she began to move her things to Preston's. I didn't
understand the timing. Had she kept the old apartment so
I'd have a place to stay? And there was still the big
question. Why had she let me come out? Why not just tell me
to stay in California? Through all of it, I never
understood that.

"Jasmine"

It smells of her.
When she is away and all I have are memories...
The echo of her voice is in my ears...
The touch of her hand. so absently tracing a line on my
face as I fell asleep.
The strength of her against me...
the last sigh..
the last shudder..
The last memory of a blessed endless night...
And the hurried morning that leaves me hungry for the next
night.

I still have the jasmine that clings to her pillow
And I still have her

I lived there for a week while she moved away, and I found
a local publisher. Barnabas Press. LOL. Trashy, but they
bought my romance novels. "Sally Groft's" romance novels,
actually. Anyway, that made it easy to rent Marlene's
apartment.

I told myself at the time that I stayed there because I was
there anyway, and I liked the roof access. But the truth
is, she was still in my dreams and poetry.

"Bath"

The smell of jasmine from somewhere overhead, or just
outside the room...
the reality of you, here, with me-
tickling at my heart
red wine that slowly works at the stresses of the day-
heat from the bath floats up and wraps us in blankets of
intimacy-

the serenity is gently held in place by a Moonlight Sonata-
it sighs in my ear...
love and desperation and long sought embrace...

a gentle tear squeezed out as the last question is answered-
the last wonder-
the last temptation-
sweet, sweet wonderful surrender...
someday my love

It doesn't seem like much, to start drinking. Just a glass
of vodka at night, to celebrate finishing a book. Then, of
course, it was a drink on Friday night after the movie.
Then it was a drink to help start off a new book. Soon it
was there to help me get to sleep.

It was a Sunday when things changed again. I had decided it
would be fun to drink espresso and vodka. I dropped two
drops of Tabasco sauce into the vodka to give it kick, and
threw it back. The espresso machine had just finished
steaming, and I poured the soupy coffee into a cup and
threw it back right on top of the vodka. That was a
mistake. I was suddenly very dizzy. Fortunately, I was
close to the bed....

I was lying in bed, my forehead dripping wet, madly talking
nonsense& dreaming& a nightmare from the past& the woman
moved to climb over me& she kissed slowly and languorously
across my chest, moving up to my neck with a hunger that
left me gasping& . "Marie-". I struggled for breath to say
more, but her kisses weakened me& I felt little cold
things drop onto my chest and roll to the floor. And
finally I asked "What do you want? I told you I don't want
any sex, I am drunk& "

"You are so sad& longing& " she muttered, between suckling
kisses and labored breaths. "I crave your sadness& "

With that, her ravenous mouth abandoned its explorations
and fell upon my mouth. I instinctively responded, but
found myself overwhelmed by her hunger. "I-." Then I felt
the crushing weight of the last six months come crashing
down on me. Oh, God, this woman was feeding off of my
sadness. Her lips were crushing mine.... her tongue pushing
past my teeth to explore my mouth. And I responded. I
pushed back. My tongue engaged hers, and I held her against
me. I wanted to roll, to crush her under my weight and take
her, but I was drunk, and she had weakened me. I felt again
those cold drops rolling down my cheek& all I could do was
push myself against her, and feel her drawing my strength
into her.& I finally saw that her eyes were glazed. I
raised myself up and rolled her over.

Her red hair flowed behind her, spread on the pillow like a
fire.& "Marie" My face sank into her hair, and I couldn't
breathe anymore.& I woke up with my face buried in the
pillow. Exhausted. Sober. According to the clock, five
minutes had passed.

I didn't know, at the time, if she was real. I felt as if
she were feeding off of- my sadness. I didn't see her the
next day, or the next.... But I also didn't care about
Marlene, or Preston. The pain was gone. By Wednesday, I had
decided that she was a dream of vodka and espresso, and I
went back to writing. Pain was starting to grow within me
again. It was like a creeping ooze inside of me. A cancer
of tar that soaked into my heart. My thoughts drifted back
to Spain, and I wrote a rather dark poem. A suicide poem.

"Portrait in Flesh"

He created her.
Willed her to stand there motionless
as the car that he created sped down the street that they
both knew.

And as the car relentlessly approached him,

he stood there in the middle of the street.
(He knew it would look spectacular)

The music, which had been building to a deafening
crescendo,
stopped abruptly as the car ran him down.
(Focus on the white shirt turning blood red)
At that instant, everything stopped.

The car is now permanently embedded in his midsection.
The pool of blood in the street no longer spreads,

and her face is a frozen mask of horror and disbelief.
(Isn't it neat?)

The artist sits back to regard his work.
Lights a cigarette and sighs contentedly.
This one would just do.
This latest portrait in flesh.

I liked that. I silently thanked Marlene for giving me
writing material and shot it off to Barnabas Press, who put
it in a Goth magazine. A quick fifty bucks. I wonder what
the teenagers would think if they knew they were buying my
vodka for me. By Saturday night, I was ready for Marie. If
she was real. I was also halfway through the vodka, and
thinking about 'the artist'. He couldn't live long. At five
a.m. Sunday, I drank the last of the vodka and killed him
off.

"Vast Death"

A corpse running through
the snowy landscape that covers the earth
casts a dead eye skyward.
Winged scavengers stare with glass eyes
that gleam with a lust of blood and hunger.

In the endless death that is space,
a steel cocoon bursts violently.
The fragile creature within
is thrust into the vacuum
and lives a lifetime of fear in the next seconds
as his fragile flesh succumbs to the harsh nothingness.

Two bodies,
heated with want and lust to burning
wrap themselves around each other

and feed off each others souls.
The crack of thunder.
The scurrying of tiny animal feet.
Moans of passion.

Then the flash of steel
as one naked arm,
gleaming with a sheen of sweat
produces a blade
and stabs uncounted times into both bodies.

A lanky figure,
wrapped in thin and inconsequential rags
steps outside and is immediately struck
by a stabbing, killing, relentless downpour of freezing
rain.

Blinding tears,
indistinguishable from the rain
run down the dark face
and onto the already rain-dotted cigarette.

A frenzied bid to keep moving.
Click of heels running into the street.
The swish of skidding tires.
A dull thump-
and the forlorn song of a siren arriving too late.

The artist arises from a prone position
and looks around at the tiny universe
of an unfamiliar apartment.

The darkness of midday floods the room
with seductive and deadly visions
that draw the artist through the window.
The vast death ends with a noiseless scream&
And silence.

That was much better. The evil artist had to eventually
succumb to his horrible world. Balance. Justice. Bullshit,
really. If there were real justice, Marlene would have her
heart ripped out. I contemplated this while I slipped out
of my small apartment. There was one place in Rantoul that
sold alcohol on Sunday. Mayday Liquors. A bottle of Stoli's
and a bag of corn chips would do for Sunday dinner.

Time disappeared very quickly. I was contemplating writing
more. I read and reread "Vast Death". I think I slept in
front of the T.V. for a few hours. I woke up to the evening
news. And Marie sitting, watching me. "Vengeance?" Her
voice was like a lightning bolt. Thick and Russian, but
somehow- empty. Like an empty bottle. I didn't even
register at the time that she was naked.

"Excuse me?"

"Forgive me. I know you are sad. But now you want
vengeance?"

"Marie." I was coming to grips with the fact that she
wasn't a dream. That sounds stupid, but spending your life
living in a tiny apartment drinking and writing suicide
poems can change your power of perception. And it is just
not normal for naked Russian babes to land in your bed and
make love to you. "Your name is Marie, isn't it?" She
nodded, and that incredible red hair bobbed and seemed to
flicker like a fire. "How do you know about the vengeance?"

"I can smell your fear and your sadness. Your hatred. How
do you live with it all the time?" She looked disapproving.
But there was a hunger to her at the same time.

"What are you?" That question came out unbidden.

You could cut her accent with a knife and spread it on a
piece of toast. "Nosferat'id. Vampire of the Heart." What
that was, she explained, was a vampire that fed on
emotions. She said that she smelled my 'melancholia' from
miles away. It had left her intoxicated for five days.

"I don't want to talk about it." Damn. I had been fine for
days. In fact, for five days. Since-. "You took my....
melancholia. My sadness?"

"It was so intense. So very passionate."

Then I lost the angry edge that kept me from crying. "Can
you take it all? Can you stop it from hurting?"

One of her eyes closed quickly, and something bright
dropped to the floor. I could see from where I sat that it
was a diamond. "Kesla, I can do this. I can. But you will
lose your passion. All of it. Your 'artist' will be no
more."

A tear squeezed out, and I suddenly hated the passion that
Marie wanted. I hated the salty tear that smeared the dirt
on my face. I hated Marlene, and everyone that I had ever
known. Except for Marie. She was beautiful. She was
incredible. And she could stop the pain forever. "Please."

She kissed me. Hard. It was like the first time, except
that I was awake this time. I felt as if- as if she were
feeding on me. I felt like an animal was devouring me. I
felt helpless. And this was just a kiss. Her arms were
around me, like steel bands. Her body was very hard next to
mine. But the fact that she was naked meant nothing. It was
as if it were natural. I imagined a wolf devouring its
prey, but with just a kiss. I must have fallen back on the
bed at some point, and I have vague memories now of making
love to her. Or I think it was actually her making love to
me& . with my passion. When I awoke Monday morning, I was
sober. No hangover. And no sadness.

She came back the following Sunday, and the same thing
happened. I noticed that she always left a small pile of
diamonds on the floor by the bed. I felt for one brief,
bitter moment like a prostitute. Take my passion, leave me
a fortune in tears. But in fact, I had asked her to.

Seven more Sundays came and went, with seven more visits by
Marie. Seven more kisses. Seven more piles of diamond tears
by the side of the bed. On the eighth Sunday she didn't
show, and I felt myself hungry for her passion. Or anyone's.

"Without Marie"

There are pieces of me
elemental fingertips
flames licking ineffectually at the ice that traps me
keeps me wanting in the dark without ever having
needing without ever touching
reaching without ever grasping
living
without ever loving

I decided finally that I couldn't spend the rest of my life
waiting for Marie to come back. Really, she had no reason
to. And for the first time in a month, I left the
apartment. The Artist, indeed. I glanced quickly at the
little window that had teased me for so long, and thought
again about the Artist. Then I was safely in my car. The
Trans Am rumbled out of the small parking lot, then took
two side streets to Seratonin Avenue, which runs the length
of Rantoul. Before I could note the passage of time,
darkness fell like a light switching off, and I was turning
onto Canberra Street. Whatever it was that had pulled me
almost out of town drew me into the rows of identical tract
housing that formed the outskirts of Rantoul. And as I saw
the shape of a '65 Mustang parked on the street, I sensed
something akin to Marie. It smelled, oddly, like fresh
brewed coffee. That was my first real taste of a
Nosferat'id hunger pang. What I sensed, smelled, tasted was
hunger. But the hunger that pulled me, just as Marie would
have been pulled to my melancholia, was another
Nosferat'id. And he (I somehow knew it was a 'he', even at
that point) was after someone in the house at 1248 Canberra.

He was dressed in a black on black pinstriped suit, and was
standing at a side window just short of a wooden fence.
Clean fingers scraped at the window, until he noticed me
watching. I expected him to be angry or dangerous... like a
vampire. But he just gave me a dirty look. "Get away. She's
mine," he hissed.

I made no effort to be as quiet as he'd been. "What are you
doing to her?"

"I'm giving her some fear," he answered. "She's just gone
to sleep. Mom and Dad are out of town. Watch, if that's all
you like to do. But keep quiet."

I didn't think he was actually going to hurt her, but I
decided to stop him. And the only way to do that was to
wake her up. So I picked up a rock and threw it at the
window. He responded by hissing at me again, then turning
back to the window "Nicky loves you, Melissa." Then he
smashed the glass in with his elbow and leered into the
room. "Nicky loves you!" Then he turned and brushed past me
as he ran to the front of the house.

By the time I got to ny car, the Mustang was roaring down
Canberra towards Seratonin. Fortunately, the Trans Am's
350, V-8 engine had no trouble keeping up with Nick's
Mustang. As we screamed down Seratonin Avenue, I started to
wonder what I'd do if I caught him. I noticed, as I drew to
within a car's length of him, a red light in the center of
the rear window. A third brake light in the shape of a
death's head. I'd seen them before, in the autoparts store
across the street from my apartment. But this one had real
eyes, and glowed with real flame as it stared at me. Nick's
Mustang was definitely a custom job.

The chase ended at the very end of Seratonin Avenue, just
before it merged with and became highway 45, in the
parking lot of "Patty's All-Nite Melts". Nick had somehow
pulled far ahead of me, and was already parked against a
huge plate glass window. I parked next to him, and got out
of my car.

"Hey vampire," Nick called cheerfully as I walked into
Patty's. "Have a seat!" He gestured to the bench opposite
him in one of several booths that lined a very long wall in
the diner. He spoke to a young woman who was pouring a cup
of coffee, and she left quickly. "Sit. You caught me. Have
a cup of coffee."

I hadn't expected that. Bad as Nick obviously was, he
seemed to enjoy his lot. And he seemed to enjoy having
company. As soon as I sat down, one of Patty's
'neverending' cups of coffee appeared in front of me, and I
sipped it gratefully. I suddenly knew I was finished with
vodka. "What are you?" My thinking was that he was some
kind of pedophile vampire, preying on midwest teenage
girls. I was picturing a Nosferat'id Malcolm McDowell from
"A Clockwork Orange".

"I'm not that bad," Nick answered, seeming to read my mind.
"I was just scaring her a little. At least I'm not selling
sick fantasies for vodka."

"No," I answered. "You're just soiling young lives." I
suddenly felt very defensive, and found myself wondering
how physically dangerous the wiry and intuitive Nick might
be. "You're painting evil on a blank canvas."

Nick grinned lasciviously. "Isn't it neat?" That line,
plucked from 'Portrait in Flesh' was too direct to be
coincidence. "If you want to see something really neat," he
continued, "stick around. There's a girl comes in here
every night..."

As his words trailed off, I felt a great desire to leave,
and never spend another second in Nick's company. It was
too much an entertainment to him. The more innocent the
better. But a resounding crash stopped me. A pane of glass
two booths down smashed into the diner, with two people
sprawled in the center of it. One was a middle-aged man
wearing an anonymous white dress shirt, splattered with
more blood than could be explained by the broken glass. On
top of him was a girl, no more than twenty. Her pretty face
was speckled with blood, and her delicate hands clutched a
wicked knife. That would explain all the blood, I thought.
She muttered a curse as the echo of the crash died, and
looked directly at me. Then she dropped the knife and
disappeared through the gaping hole, framed by still
clinging shards of glass.

"Go get her!" Nick hissed, but I was already up and running
after her.

I was surprised to find the girl leaning heavily against
the side of my Trans Am, as if she'd run a mile, rather
than the dozen steps between my car and the window. But she
was there, blood dripping onto the midnight blue paint, and
fishnet stockings torn and snagged on some bit of body
work. "What happened--?" I asked, even as she seemed to see
me only now. As she raised the knife defensively, I felt a
sudden compulsion to kiss her. Hard.

"Don't go." I heard the words behind me, in a woman's
voice, and jumped. I was in a bathroom, completely unlike
mine. The walls were salmon-pink, with all sorts of things
hanging everywhere. Pantyhose. Bras. Underwear. There was a
slight scent in the air, jasmine and lilac, and something
that smelled of rain. "Let's just forget all about him and
stay in." She was pleading. "I'm over it."

"You're not over it," I heard myself answer in a woman's
voice. "And neither am I. It'll just be once more, honey.
He trusts me. He won't be expecting me to--"

"I don't want you to go!" She pushed the door open, and I
saw her. Roommate. Lover. Rape victim. "You're selling
yourself to that bastard. Touching him, with the same hands
that touch me."

"The same hands are gonna kill that son of a bitch," I
said. The knife was sitting in a shelf over the bathroom
sink, and I saw that it was actually more of a letter
opener. Dull silver, with costume jewelry built into the
handle. And then I gazed into the mirror, and saw myself. I
was the girl who would sometime soon stab her lover's
rapist and slam him through the glass at Patty's All-Nite
Melts. The roommate... Cassie was her name, put her hands
around my neck and kissed me as if it were the last time.

I fell away from her, as I found myself back in the parking
lot at Patty's Melts. Then I over-balanced, and fell to the
dirt. This seemed to wake her up, and she dropped the
letter-opener that I'd seen just seconds ago in her
bathroom. "Take that with you," I said. "Don't let anyone
find it. Then take Cassie and get the hell away from here."
As she began to move on shaky legs, I moved past her, and
almost fell into the car. My hands found the keys, and
turned the ignition. Fortunately the car started quickly,
and I pulled away from the glass and horror that was
Patty's Melts. And even as I did, I saw and heard a small
pile of perfect diamonds skitter across the hood and get
lost in the dirt.

I stayed in the car for days, cherishing the solitude and
security of the steel cocoon around me. But soon the car
seemed to become a prison, and I wandered through now snowy
streets and sidewalks as winter descended on Rantoul.
That's where I met Sandy.

She was bundled in what seemed to me at the time to be
perfect and warm and feminine. Soft brown hair peeking out
from under a cute white hat, with just a shadow of what I
would later learn was premature gray hair, That all made a
very pretty picture that reminded me briefly of what I
thought Marlene was going bring into my life. And what had
brought me to this point. She was waiting for a bus and
feeding french fries to squirrels.

"I didn't know they liked french fries," I said as an
opening.

"This time of year they like just about anything," she
answered cooly. The bus showed up a few minutes later, and
I allowed my curiosity to pull me along behind her.

I stayed with her on the bus, and introduced her to a
civilized version of myself. A normal, non-Nosferat'id
version of myself that wrote poetry for a living and was
seeking a soulmate. Not too far off, but lacking certain
deal-breakers. She liked what she heard, and we got to know
each other. And everything went fine. It wasn't completely
honest, and I knew it couldn't last forever. All I was
doing was making her love me so I could smell it, swim in
it, pretend to share it, until one day, I knew it was
almost over. Christmas was getting close, and we were
hauling packages into her house. I had a bag with several
boxes in it, and my foot slipped on a patch of ice. The bag
flew out of my hands, and a snow globe was suddenly out and
flying. It crashed into a rock on the side of the path and
lay there in pieces. She looked at the snowglobe, now
filling with real snow, and at me, as if she'd expected it
to happen. I followed her into the house, feeling numb and
stupid. It was almost over, I knew. Bitter disappointment
hung in the air like incense, and I took it in a kiss...

"Lack"

He is just this man.
I am just this woman.

I kissed him.
Because-

there was this lack in his eyes.
Not a vacuum, because a vacuum is empty.
A lack is something missing.
Something that must have been there once.
I could see where something was missing.

When I kissed him.
He kissed me. Not with his hands, or his arms or legs or
with his body or with
his passion...
Just his mouth.

I felt as if something-
Everything was being taken.
I felt the lack.

This great wind as all the passion and life...
as it all left me.
The tears drained.
The tears when Bobby died.
The tears when Russell left.

I felt them all leave.

The joy of finding the house, and spending our first night.
The joy of love...

And little Bobby with the crooked smile.
I swear I saw Bobby look at me as he passed by...
And this man continued to kiss me...
His hands were still, yet I melted.
He didn't speak.

There was no electricity to it. No fireworks.

He is not my great love, like you read in cheap novels.
He is just a man, and it is just a kiss.

And when I see tears form in his eyes, and drop to the
floor like diamonds.
Tears for Bobby and Russell, and that little black dog
Buddy...
I feel the lack in me.

I felt her slip away from me, and the parade of losses that
Sandy had suffered, and maybe why she'd expected nothing
out of me. Finally nothing was all she got, plus a pile of
diamond tears that she wouldn't understand, because I would
now be nothing but a lack to her. I never went by that bus
stop again, and never watched pretty girls who fed french
fries to squirrels. I closed my eyes, and walked into the
darkness. I wasn't expecting to find anyone.

"Bittersweet"

It seems I walked the same street for a year-
crossing and turning-
retracing my steps.

January snow still hid the crosswalk.

The smell of a neighbor's barbecue nearly stopped me in July
but an early frost kept me passing by.

In the window,
I saw the shadow of two people kissing.
How much I would give to be in that shadow,
and let someone else pass by in the night.

But it is enough for a vampire of the heart to be able to
breathe in the scent
of love

and pretend that it's mine.

It is my good fortune to have you as my friend.
After a year on that street,
I'll spend all eternity looking for you
in a town called bittersweet.

And if, after all that time
I only catch a trace of your friendship in the wind,
then eternity will not have been wasted.

She really wasn't my friend anymore. I knew that, but kept
telling myself that since I'd left before a fight, that we
could be. It kept me from thinking that I'd hurt her too
much. That myth... that shadow of a half truth sustained
me. Six months passed. Or six days. Small consideration.
Driving home from a movie one night, and there was a small
figure huddled in the darkness on the side of the highway.
I remember thinking what a foolish thing to do...such a
risk at night...so I did something equally foolish. I
stopped and offered a ride. A woman, at night,
hitch-hiking. "Where are you going?" A small,tough voice
answers back "Urbana." And it was that stretch of highway
45 between the towns when the lights are few and far
between, and the cars just as rare when she turned at a
light and kissed me.

What I thought I would get was the sadness and
despair...deep and rich and satisfying if a bit
predictable...there was that, and I wasn't sure if it was
Patsy Cline on the radio or in my head...but there was also
confusion and disarray and a feeling of...displacement.
Like I wasn't where I should have been. Like I was someone
else entirely. Not this small tough girl hitch-hiking in
Rantoul...but someone else, locked in a white room, waiting
while experts hovered around...mumbling about me...

Or Susan. Oh, Susan who works in this homeless
shelter...and it was cold. Snow tracked inside by too many
pairs of shoes marched inside a building filled with cots
and bags and hopeless people. Susan who looks at me like a
friend, and asks..."Is that what I am to you? A taste of an
emotion?" Not bitter. Not accusing or angry or
frightened...just... disappointed. "Is that all?" The only
answer came again from Patsy Cline "I knew... you'd love me
as long as you wanted, and then someday you'd leave me for
somebody new."

"The Alien"

Loneliness becomes a lover.
Solitude a cherished sin.
Never to be touched again...
Is he-
does he-
feel pain?
I almost caught it once-
just a brief flash in his eyes.
And once, in a few terse, self-deprecating words.

But were they words,
or lines?
A heart, or a script?
If we could just talk.
But I can't see him for the face he hides behind.
He doesn't even seem human.
No tears.
Clichs of love.
An alien.

Then Susan was gone, and the girl who kissed me at that
light... her face stayed briefly, like an afterimage of
light burnt into the retina. A name presented itself to me.
Marta.

Leaving Rantoul was all that I could do. I worried/hoped
briefly that Marie might look for me in that horrible
apartment, or that even Marlene might. But it had been more
than a year since I'd seen either of them. Nick seemed to
have decided that I was too serious to spend time with. So
I packed everything I cared about, (surprisingly little. A
laptop computer, some old books, and some clothes) and left
Rantoul for a warmer climate. Goodbye midwest, hello
Florida panhandle. Fort Walton Beach to be specific. Why
there? Because in my younger, less responsible days, I'd
been stationed at a small air force base there. It was also
fairly quiet. And of course Barnabas Press didn't care
where I lived, just so long as I continued to send them
poetry. And despite Marie's warning, my 'artist' was alive
and well.

But of course, the internet was worth more to me than
sending email. I quickly discovered an internet industry
based on 'lovelines'. Lonely hearts for the
cyber-generation. And while I knew I wasn't going to find
love there, (Because Susan had been right. They were just
tastes of emotions.) I was there looking for the strange
anonymous passion that even an email could convey. Soon I
found myself almost addicted to the process of creating a
profile just to see what I could draw in. I even found a
creation of software called a love-bot. An artifical
intelligence program that, given a sufficiently complex
user profile, could simulate a cyber romance. Not exactly a
substitute, I knew, but it was an interesting exercise in
adaptive software manipulation. But even as I tasted the
email passions of real and artificial girls, I found that
every profile I created eventually drew in someone named
Marta. There was even an artificial Marta that responded in
a rather predictable, computerized fashion to every random
whim that I threw at it. Marta was there, and Marta wasn't
leaving.

The real Marta's (twelve in all. One for each 'real' Kesla
that I'd created) were just as adaptive and random, but I
knew that they were also reading me, and there was
something powerful to them. Almost as if they were looking
as hard as I was. Finally I gave up the game and left all
but one. With her, I began to bring myself carefully around
to who and what I was. The word 'vampire' never came into
it, nor did 'nosferat'id', and since I had never actually
lied, I didn't have great trouble getting around to
complete truth. I simply peeled away at layers that I
hadn't hinted at before. I was showing the substance that
was responsible for shadows I'd revealed before. And then
she revealed to me, in her poetry, substance that I had
never imagined or hoped for.

"Layers"

Just how many layers are there to you?
An hour ago you were getting dressed.
A day ago you were making love.
A year ago you were on the run.
There has been rage
(which tastes sweet)
and love
(which tastes of garlic)

and panic
(which tastes like cinnamon)

Two hundred years ago
you pushed me away.
Four hundred years past
we were lovers.
A thousand years ago we played on the Russian steppes.
But your face has never changed.
Nor has your kiss.

I fell asleep thinking of making love with a vision of
Marta that was more Marie than anything else. Marie had
left a lack in me, just as I'd left one in Sandy, and
somehow I felt that my hunger would always reflect her.
Everything I ever wanted would always have something of
Marie in it. Like Marlene's haunting jasmine that had cost
me so much. My lack had Marie written all over it. But
dreams were something else altogether.

I woke up in a small motel room in Rantoul. It was one that
I'd never been in, but had driven past many times. It was a
Sunday morning, at just about ten. As light streamed into
the small room, illuminating my prone figure, I realized
that Marlene was there. Standing in the light, looking down
at me with more love and care than she'd ever demonstrated
in real life. She didn't speak. There was no apology. No
explanation. No promises of love. All she did was smile and
laugh softly, and reach down to take my hand...

I woke up again, in the apartment in Fort Walton Beach, and
immediately wrote what I'd been thinking as Marlene visited
me.

"Butterfly Kiss"

I am prone...
unmoving
eyes closed
hands at rest

jasmine tickles at my senses-
you tickle at my memory.

the softest touch-

a butterfly's kiss.
fingertips on my eyelid

something...
a strawberry in my mouth.
you, here, in the night

I sent that to Marta, feeling vaguely as if I'd been
unfaithful. In return, she sent me one that pushed any
lingering thoughts of Marlene even farther away.

"Wisp'er"

A thousand years ago

flame in the centre of the Gur licked at the cold air...
little wisps of smoke curled up, and concealed your
likeness.

Today

the fire that marks the decay of the old apartment
produces a murky, black smoke that conceals your likeness.

Tomorrow

the huge block of flats cannot conceal you
the wisp of smoke from the incense stick cannot conceal
what you made me
a thousand years ago.

The next morning, there was another message waiting for me.

"Forbidden"

I can almost hear you sigh.
I can see your eyelids flutter
as sleepy morning light
exposes you to the day.

Can you feel my kiss
from across the sea?
Can you feel forbidden arms
around you?
Shadowy desire
pushes aside inhibitions
and pulls a tear
that drops like a diamond
to the bare floor.

I stepped away from the computer, suddenly needing coffee
like I had once needed vodka. It seemed unquestionable that
Marta was Marie. Somehow, from somewhere, she was reaching
out, inviting me back. In fact, I knew very little about
her. I didn't know where she was from, or how old she was,
or what she thought she would get from me. I trusted her,
as I had trusted nobody since Marlene so very long ago.

Only then did I realize that I would leave the impersonal
apartment. I hadn't been there long, and in fact had rented
it on a monthly basis. Days were spent writing, and nights
were spent communicating with Marta. (And even though I
knew she was really Marie, somehow I didn't equate the
strangely desperate cyberpoet with the almost mournful
Nosferat'id who had taken me so long ago). And when finally
she sent me away so that we could both sleep, I took her,
(in imaginings that came unbidden, as if sent like a
goodnight kiss) by an impossibly cold, almost death-like
cold hand, and pulled her into my dreams. But she ruled
those dreams. Created them. She spoke to me in those dreams
with more clarity than ever in life.

As I walked with trepidation from a McDonalds on Moscow's
Zhukov Prospekt to the blank, cheerless block of flats at
number 5448, I found myself walking across frozen tundra,
centuries in the past. A horse appeared before me, perhaps
a hundred yards away with a red-cloaked rider, whom I
guessed was Marie. Seconds later, the horse was upon me,
and Marie dropped from the saddle and launched herself at
me. But she was covered with blood, and fell lifeless to
the frozen ground. As I registered that the horse was
suddenly gone, Marie's body vanished, leaving an angry red
splash on the ground. It reminded me of both birth and
death. I awoke with a start, only to find myself in her
arms. We were in her flat (number 212), and I glanced
quickly out of a bare window. From the second floor vantage
point, I could see snow blowing past the McDonalds, and
suddenly knew that I would never leave.

The poem almost wrote itself the next morning as I
clambored to the computer with nothing but shorts, a
t-shirt, and a cup of coffee.

"Tendrils"

Tendrils that link and connect me
to a woman a thousand years ago
as if I were there, making love to her-
creating a small fire between us,
to escape from the cold of the steppes.

The same tendril, wrapped the other way 'round
links me to murder and madness and revenge

just last night-
a lover
a rapist
a knife.

Will the same tendril lead me 'cross the sea,
sometime just past tomorrow,
to a bland, windowless security door
and an unfamiliar voice that waits
with the patience of eternity?

I left the apartment in Fort Walton easily and without
regret. Again, my belongings were easy to take with me.
Everything fit into a large duffel bag and a laptop case.
Then a short domestic flight to New York and a non-stop
Aeroflot flight to Moscow.

I felt certain that I would dream of Marie on the flight. I
looked forward to it, knowing that my dreams weren't just
wishes, but were somehow promises and entreaties that she
was sending.

I was again in a darkened apartment, surrounded by the fear
and desolation that had consumed me in the immediate wake
of Marlene's betrayal. I was not at home, either in
Rantoul, or Fort Walton Beach. I wasn't even in the flat on
Zhukov Prospekt, though I half recognized the apartment, as
if I'd seen it in a movie years ago. A woman who looks like
but isn't Marie is hovering over me, looking flushed, as if
from a great struggle. There is no joy, no love in her
eyes. Covering her bare skin is a sheen of perspiration,
and reflected in that I see flames licking angrily at air.
In the distance, I heard scurrying, either of desperate
animal feet, or of high heels in the distance. It is my
'artist', I knew, and the apartment was his unfamiliar
apartment. His lonely universe. Was he about to plunge to
his death in a noiseless scream? The many-times promised
death of the artist who was my own dark side? "No," the
woman who was but wasn't Marie aswered. "He is the cure."
With sudden tenderness, she cradled my head in her lap and
read to me.

"Separated/Together/One"

"Separated"

Once it was inches-
the heat between us needed to survive the cold.
There was nothing between our hearts.
Hands that rose in mutual defence
could hold and pull and take.
You caressed
and we were somehow closer.

Even then-
you were eternal-
dark-
dangerous-
carnal.

You made me part of you.

That was yesterday-

and again, a thousand years ago.

It was thousands of miles away-
and again, in my bed.

It was you-
and always you.

"Together"

Yesterday-
and a thousand years ago
Thousands of miles away-
and in my bed

No matter the distance-
no matter the time-
the hours peel away
and fall
like rose petals in the wind.

The moments blend together
like kisses
in a night of passion

The miles shrink
one by one
vanishing beneath me
as my plane slips through the sky
towards you.

Until we are together

"One"

Yesterday-
and a thousand years ago
Thousands of miles away-
and in my bed

It was you-

and always you.

The hours peel away
the moments blend together
the miles shrink one by one

until we are together

I came upon a stranger on now familiar streets.
You were in her eyes-

fear was in her heart.
I took both from her.

The bloodied fingerprints were imaginary-
they were the death of the past.

A gaze toward the block of flats
wherein your shadow lied.
Buzzing in your ears-
a distinct lack of fears.

A thousand years ago
meets yesterday
and settles peacefully
into tomorrow's lap.
An eon of want
ends with a point on a map.

Nervous walk up cold stairs
Offered neck-

shoulder bared.

Stolen moments redeemed-
another life, it seemed.

A thousand letters on file-
gathered on the floor in a pile.

Shadows we have been-
never could be seen.

But now the story's done-
we who were two are one.

Then I was away from her, feeling first as if a fire had
gone out in the flat, and then I was back out on Zhukov
Prospekt. A sudden icy wind cut through thin and
inconsequential rags that my 'artist' had once worn. I
pulled myself into a glass telephone booth for protection,
only then imagining that she had spoken to me from this
very booth. That her lips had once been next to the
mouthpiece, as she listened to my words from thousands of
miles away. I picked up the receiver, and dialed her
number. "Kesla!"

I awoke to the sound of my name being shouted, and I looked
suddenly around the quiet cabin. There was nothing but the
reluctant, half-asleep assemblage of passports and custom
forms, as the seemingly fragile steel cocoon of the
Aeroflot SU 316 bumped its way down towards Moscow's
Sheremetyevo airport. How close was she? What was she
doing? I worried suddenly that I was doing a stupid thing.
That maybe all of my dreams had in fact been nothing but
dreams, and Marta was someone who wanted nothing more than
to take advantage of me, or think I was foolish. Something
in me wanted to leave without exiting the airport. But I
couldn't. I felt as if already she was watching. Equal
parts fear and need, just as Marie had always been. I was
home.

"Midmorning on Strange Streets"

The wind tells me....
Follow the ache...
the need...

I'll find you where my heart has led me...
into the warmth of your embrace

I was not surprised to find that taxi drivers in Moscow
speak english, even as I chastised myself for not even
bringing a phrasebook. Fortunately, there was only one
McDonalds on Zhukov Prospekt. The taxi dropped me of in
front of the familiar yet somehow strange golden arches
that as far as I knew were a symbol of American disposable
food in every corner of the globe. Why did I feel the need
to stop and gather my thoughts? Coffee and a hamburger, for
a taste of the familiar? Then there were children streaming
in, as if from school. It could be a crowd on lunch. I
thought very little of it, until someone who must have been
their teacher came in, with her head completely wrapped
against the wind. As she stood, loosening her coat, and
finally uncovering her face, I gasped. It was the familiar
yet unfamiliar face from my dream. Marie, and yet not
Marie. The girl in the flat on Zhukov Prospekt, now only a
short walk away. "Marie?" I asked.

As she seemed to recognize me, with a half-puzzled look, as
if she'd dreamt of me, I stood. Then it was her turn to
gasp, and run away. Without considering the consequences, I
followed her out the door. She was running across the
parking lot to a telephone booth atop a grassy knoll, and I
could smell fear and passion and danger in her. Not the
normal fear of someone being chased by a stranger, but a
deeper, more entrenched dread. Somehow, I suddenly knew
without a doubt that it was Marie. But a thousand years
ago. It was as if I'd walked over her grave, and she'd
cried out. It was Marie, before she was Nosferat'id. "Don't
hurt me," she whimpered as she reached the glass booth. I
noticed that, although she didn't hit with much force, an
angry splash of red remained on the glass.

"Marie, it's Kesla." I stopped, terrified now of hurting
her or driving her away, even as I prayed that this was
another dream that I would safely walk away from soon. "I
just want to talk."

"I don't want to talk anymore," she said with a dead tone
to her voice. A piercing scream from the open doors of the
restaurant forced me to look in that direction. But
amazingly, the woman who I had presumed to be the teacher
was back in the restaurant, happily in the middle of her
students. I was not surprised to find the telephone booth
empty and the glass unbloodied. I didn't go back inside the
McDonalds.

"1230: Telephone Booth"

Telephone Booth.
I know you've been here.
How many times have we spoken over this phone?
Were you here when you called me on my mobile?
The phone I raise to my lips-
did you raise it to yours,
With tears streaming down your alabaster cheeks?
"Please. please." I can still smell the desperation.
or is it a new perfume?

"Come now. Come to me, please-."

You'd be expecting me-
I told you I'd be on the morning flight.
Did you call just once more
so that our kiss might be just across hours
rather than miles?
Before there is nothing between us but our hearts.

As she had told me in my dream, 5448 Zhukov Prospekt was a
very short distance from the McDonalds. It was a large,
grey block of an apartment building ('flats', she had
gently corrected me) very close to a barren-looking park.
There was no sign of the school I had guessed was nearby,
but I also would not be surprised if the students and
teacher had suddenly vanished from that McDonalds lobby, as
if they had been put there for my benefit only. No, the
only thing I was sure of was that Marie would be up there
in flat number 212, probably hidden behind the name Marta,
and some identity indistinguishable from either of the two
that I thought I knew. I saw several sets of grey curtains
moving slightly in several windows, and wondered if she was
watching me approach. Perhaps looking out the window as I
had in my dreams. Even then, I thought of running back to
America. I even stopped less than a hundred feet from the
building, but a sudden savage freezing rain (much like the
one that I'd inflicted on my doomed 'artist' a lifetime
ago) hit me, and I ran to the front door.

The march upstairs was just as exhilirating as it was
frightening. There could be no more dreams. No more
choices. No more hope or desperation. All that this might
have been, will be in a matter of minutes. I found 212 as
soon as I reached the second floor, and knocked loudly.

"Marta"

Marta is music that slowly curls in
through a cold window-
brushes against a numb cheek with sudden warmth.

Hands and fingers
that stimulate
-love-
that simulates fingers and hands
duality that comforts
in the face of fear
flash of passion
that is frightening-
invigorating-
terrifying

dreams of a life so familiar
and so far away
dreams of things not impossible
dreams of questions and answers
the idea of a voice in the barren darkness
imagination roams
across foreign lands
give myself to imagined hands
walk together on ancient sands
and dare to make forbidden plans

of two lovers huddled in a booth
sharing love and wine and truth
words and passions never wasted
and Marta is love
never tasted.

Some poems turned about to be true. Some were completely
false. Some dreams were prophetic, while others were just
dreams. Marta (her real name, as it turned out), was born
in Mongolia in the year 1162, of unknown but non-oriental
parentage. She had known a lover by the name of Kesla (who
bore no resemblance to me) who had been brutally murdered
by an unidentified killer. As was a custom then, his
remains were placed on the highest reachable peak for birds
of prey to consume, so that his spirit could join with the
sky gods. (I asked her why she hadn't mentioned this when
she first found me in Rantoul, but she suddenly looked sad
and wouldn't answer. I didn't ask her again.)

Marta had never known old age or death, just as she had
never known love after the murder of Kesla. He came to her
in a dream thirteen days later (resembling me, as it turned
out), explaining that he was Nosferat'id, or Vampire of the
Heart, and that his kiss had made her one. He had also
promised to come back to her, and only then could either of
them love again. As it turned out, he was right.

"Nosferat'id"

She is not the mother of her race.
Not the first
Not the creator

and yet
two thousand years ago

she was ancient
with a perspective
so far removed from
mortal
transitory
people
as to be alien

At her core is an absence
a vacuum

a lack
A memory of
and need for
passion

she is compelled
to move in shadows-
driven by the need
pulled along by the lack
of love and hatred

and passion and lust.
the ego-
the heart-
the particular odor
of mortal passion
is what her grey, shadowed heart
hungers for

A vampire of the heart
who can smell tears from miles away,

like a cigarette
lit in the jungle
like a cry in the dark and vast night
She can taste fear and revenge
like chocolate on the tongue
and like champagne,
it tickles her nose.

In the past,
where I sometimes visit her in dreams and visions

she is ancient and wise
and yet tomorrow
she might be as young as first love
non-linear existence
yesterdays, todays, and tomorrows
blend and dance and intermingle
She is young and old
passionate and cold
Vampire of my heart
Nosferat'id

I see in him
Alpha and Omega...
The beginning and the end.
Amaranth-
the mythical eternal flower
He is defined by his loss of innocence
and the treachery of another
A soul dead vast and empty
like the sea at night

Undisturbed by ripples of
passion-
of need and satisfaction
a cry and a moan that defines the rest
ups and downs are flat for him
and yet he trails memories of love
like a tail
like small bits of flotsam and jetsom
dragged onto a beach behind driftwood

his diamond tears have mortal fears suspended in them
memories of mortality
afterglow of expended passion
that doesn't fade-
it exists faintly
forever

but his eyes are pools of eternity
black holes from which no soul
can escape

he is the creator
he is the path
and he is the cure

Vampire of my Heart
Nosferat'id

Kapact's Rant: "Sharks Under the Bus"

2010-12-17T08:19:00.001-08:00

Have you ever noticed that when conservatives stick to their fundamental principles, (and when liberals break from theirs) the country prospers, and vice versa?

It's been fun watching the liberal pack fall on each other like a bunch of blood-smelling sharks. Surprisingly, the Republicans in Congress have stuck to their guns, forcing a weak president to cave and agree to a compromise. Mr Obama isn't good at much, but he is very good at throwing people under the bus at the first sign of trouble. Mr Obama realized that he's lost the rubber-stamp congress that he had for two years (during which time he failed to show any positive results from his socialist playbook), so he's suddenly decided that he has no choice but to cave. (Just like Mayor Quimby from the Simpsons "I have decided... to waffle!") He agrees to a compromise with the Republicans and expects his liberal friends to follow along. Surprise, he suddenly meets something none of us expected, liberals with principles. And what does he do? He shows his true colors and throws them under the bus, but not without calling the Republicans hostage-takers first.

Okay, Mr Obama. I understand that you lectured constitutional law when you realized what a failure you were at community organizing (still haven't gotten that right, have you?), but did you happen to read the document at the time? Because amongst everything else, it says nothing about the president having a vote in Congress. In case that isn't clear, sir, you aren't in a position to compromise on a funding bill. You could try to negotiate a position that Democratic leaders have put forth, but you have no say over what gets written in those hallowed halls built so appropriately on a swamp. In case that whole constitution thing is a little confusing, talk to Mr Reid. He told us on Thursday that the constitution is their rule book. Who knew?

And something else. All this talk about 'paying for tax cuts' is missing a few vital facts (just like most things that come from the liberals and their Newspeak Thought Police drive-by media... I know it sounds dramatic, but really, they are in the business of telling us what to think, aren't they?). I'll put it simply. You don't have to pay for tax cuts. They pay for themselves. Look at it this way. Say I'm managing a household budget (something your average community organizer apparently never does), and I'm making two kinds of purchases. Buying groceries to eat tonight, but also buying seeds to plant a vegetable garden. I might spend a dollar on a packet of, say carrot seeds, but spend a dollar on a one pound bag of carrots. It might take a dollar out of the budget to buy seeds that won't give me carrots to eat for a couple of months, but eventually they'll give me much more than a pound. Wealth works the same way. If people are allowed to keep more of the money that they've earned, they will put it back into the economy. Businesses will boom, and not only pay more taxes, but eventually hire more people, who will pay more tax and spend more money. And of course, those businesses are owned by people who will buy more houses and cars, hire more domestic workers, and maybe even expand their businesses. And as an added bonus, the ranks of the unemployed and welfare dependent will shrink, and the government will have more money to blow. That is simple proven economics that worked before. (Remember when they stopped calling it Reaganomics? When it started working.) The only problem is that a prosperous independent people don't need Uncle Sam to dictate and provide their needs. And liberals, for some reason, don't do well in those circumstances.

At the same time, some Republican senators have already started to add earmarks to this monster spending bill that our Prime Minister... er, President has negotiated, after campaigning on a "no Earmarks" platform. Keep that up and we'll throw you under the bus.

GOD-ly Talk: Thanksgiving and the Reason for the Season

2010-11-27T10:10:00.000-08:00

Just so you know, I'm not a preacher or minister of any kind. I'm not educated on the bible, and I'm not the most reverent person on the planet. I'm a sinner and I constantly struggle to be a better person. In short, I'm no expert. But I believe that we all have the key to our salvation within us. We have all the answers we need to go to heaven.

Not everyone celebrates Thanksgiving, and some celebrate it on different days. I even know some people who feel that it commemorates a bad thing. Fair enough, if you are an American Indian, and view the arrival of Europeans as a bad thing. But the simple concept of setting aside a day to give thanks for the blessings that we have is always a good thing.

For myself, I have seen far more difficult times, so I have perspective. I understand that while my situation, the small home and savings that my family depends upon is not ideal, it is sufficient. We pay our rent and bills, are able to feed ourselves, save a very small amount, and have a bit of fun. I got my job during a hiring freeze, and we have managed to find a bit to donate to a very few worthy charities. So while we could be more comfortable, we are happy to have a home and family and the ability to look after ourselves. For that we are very thankful. I personally have been without all that and dependent upon others for food and shelter. As I said, I have perspective.

As always happens this time of year, we are being bombarded with ads on television for the Christmas shopping season, and while I understand the economic need for businesses to try to make as much money as they can, the same people who were forced to accept a charity Thanksgiving meal will also know that this media blitz and dream of the latest gadget is not for them. Unfortunately, success in the western world is now equated with the gadgets you can buy and the price tags under the Christmas tree. So the unfortunate in our society will be left out, and will have a very difficult and most likely depressing holiday season. But presents and commercialism are not the reasons for the season. Celebrating the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ is. And that's free.

So if you are depressed because you can't afford the latest smartphone or if your family won't be playing the Wii on Christmas morning, remember first that you were given an amazing gift. The creator of the universe gave his only begotten son so that you could be forgiven for your sins. This gift was given to you, personally. Enjoy the knowledge of salvation and everlasting life and forgiveness for your sins that God gave to you personally. I do. Sure, I'm looking forward to a book and maybe just maybe a small second-hand gadget. But the real gift was given to me and my family long, long ago, before any of us were born. And I'm pretty happy about that.

Kapact's Sci Fi Buzz: Klingon Opera and Real Tractor Beams

2010-09-17T09:24:00.000-07:00

Star Trek Online’s second season continues to add content that is making the troubled MMO more acceptable to players. The current feature episode involves the Breen, who were a powerful Dominion ally during the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine television series. The Breen have been attacking a neutral species, The Deferi, in search of ancient technology that is found throughout Deferi settlements. It’s up to you and your crew to determine what the Breen are after and how to protect the Deferi people from this new threat. While this episode is available for Federation and Klingon players, the content imbalance in favor of Federation players is still ongoing.

Damon Lindelof, co-writer of the Star Trek sequel is very tight-lipped, but says that the film will be deeper than the original.

Klingon opera has completed its glorious run in the Netherlands. Entitled – u -, which translates roughly to "universe" or "universal", the opera was the first ever Earth-based Klingon production. The orchestra featured "indigenous Klingon instruments", some making their debut on this planet. The opera's website gives potential attendees a breakdown of what the production will sound like: "Klingon opera uses the principle of musical combat. Beauty in Klingon music comes from the impact of two opposing forces. To quote a well known Klingon proverb qa' wIje 'meH masuv or 'we fight to enrich the spirit.'" The project took three years to complete and will be playing at the Zeebelt Theatre in the Hague from September 9th to the 11th. It was directed by the Klingon Terran Research Ensemble

“By Any Other Name: An Evening of Shakespeare in Klingon” featuring George Takei takes place at 8 p.m. on September 25th, 2010, at the Rosslyn Spectrum in Arlington, Virginia. In addition to scenes from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Julius Caesar, and Much Ado About Nothing (with a same sex couple performing as Beatrice and Benedick), the performance includes an introduction by Marc Okrand (creator of the Klingon Language) and a question and answer session with George Takei, Okrand, and Washington Shakespeare Company (WSC)’s artistic director Christopher Henley at the conclusion of the show.

From “TrekToday”, Terra Nova, the Stephen Spielberg prehistoric dinosaur drama, has undergone an executive producer change. David Fury (24, Lost) is leaving the series, due to “creative differences.” According to a source, Fury was “beloved by the producers on the show, but it just didn’t work out.” Fury’s departure leaves Brannon Braga (Star Trek: The Next Enterprise, Voyager, Enterprise) as the sole writing executive producer for the series. Steven Spielberg and Peter Chernin are the show’s other executive producers.

Terra Nova will “follow a family from one hundred years in the future who travel back in time one hundred and fifty million years to prehistoric Earth ruled by dinosaurs.” Jason O’Mara will be playing Jim Shannon, the head of a family who has traveled back in time to these prehistoric times. Stephen Lang (Avatar) is in talks for the role of Frank Taylor, the “charismatic and ruthless leader” of the Terra Nova settlement.

Filming for the Terra Nova pilot will begin in Australia next month. The series is expected to launch in October 2011, with a preview to air in May of the same year. Fox has ordered thirteen episodes of the drama.

Researchers at the Australian National University have created a device that can move small particles multiple feet using only light. The device works by shining a hollow laser beam around tiny glass particles. The air surrounding the particle heats up, while the dark center of the beam stays cool. When the particle starts to drift out of the middle and into the bright laser beam, the force of heated air molecules bouncing around and hitting the particle's surface is enough to nudge it back to the center.

Star Trek Enterprise Retro-Spective "Silent Enemy"

2010-09-16T11:11:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of the Drexfiles. No copyright infringement intended.

Silent Enemy is another very simple episode. After launching two subspace comm relays, Enterprise encounters a mysterious that refuses communications. This prompts Archer to turn the ship around and head for Jupiter Station to fully install Enterprise's phase cannons. Trip and Malcolm Reed decide to get the work done themselves quicker, which they manage to. While all of this going on, Hoshi is using the new subspace amplifier to contact Malcolm's friends and families to find out his favorite food for his upcoming birthday. The mysterious alien returns several times, scanning the ship and eventually boarding it to run invasive scans on two crewmen. They eventually get the phase cannons online and fight off the alien, and Hoshi learns that Malcolm likes pineapples. Everyone lives happily ever after, except for the aliens, who remain mysterious.

That is "Silent Enemy". It is cool, kind of creepy, and effectively shows the evolving state of the ship and crew at this still early phase of the show. I like the fact that they care about the crew enough to go to an effort to make him a special birthday meal. I also actually appreciated the fact that they hadn't installed the phase cannons, and that they channeled them through the impulse engines to increase power, in a precursor to TMP channeling phaser power through the warp drive. But there are also notable issues.

In TOS (approximately 100 years later), they didn't have real-time communications with Earth. Now they do. This is one of several instances where a technology is readily available on Enterprise but not on TOS. Sloppy, folks. 'Stealth' technology (cloaking even, later on in the series), Phase pistols before lasers. Romulans with warp drive. Some of that is excusable, most is not. This is not a condemnation of Enterprise, or of this episode. But it has its faults.

I liked the idea of these mysterious baddies, but I would have liked to have known who they were and what their agenda was. Was this episode a seed of sorts for a future episode that never happened? I like to think so. In the end, I can live with the faults of "Silent Enemy" and recommend it as a well done and creepy, if imperfect episode. It gets a definite but conditional thumbs up.
Next Up: "Dear Doctor"

Headlines From the Edge: "Jobs Defends New iPhone Without A Screen"

2010-09-14T10:33:00.000-07:00

The new "i-WAS" is not the embarrassing failure that many claim it is, according to Apple chief Steve Jobs. "Anyone can look through a window," stated Jobs to a silent crowd. "Apple users are smarter than that. If you know what you have and know what the iWas can do, why do you need to see it?" And while nobody can say for sure that the latest gadget actually does anything (because the device's allegedly state of the art features have yet to be accessed), it is still the surprising hottest seller in a crowded e-marketplace.

Fantasy Trek Summary of Events Stardate 0910.14

2010-09-14T10:29:00.000-07:00

Games in Play:

"DusaQ VeS"

DusaQ VeS is suffering the effects of an extended writer's block. Plain and simple, folks. It'll come back when it chooses to. One of the reasons to be glad there is no monthly fee, and no subscriber, for that matter :)

Head to Head Sector Assault

In the latest run, turns 1 through 11, the Federation Intrepid Fleet, has the advantage over Klingon forces in the form of a -1 random fleet disadvantage. This came about because the Intrepid Fleet started out in System 1 with a black hole accretion disc. While that means is that while they weren't able to build a shipyard, they also weren't required to. A single engagement to establish the system, and they were headed for open space and convoy hunting. There they easily took out a lightly defended Klingon convoy. In the meantime, the Klingon Kolikos Fleet had to slog it out in a nebula. They've built a shipyard and have begun to build a fleet. They're close to having their fleet (the Klingon Etlh Fleet) built, at which point they'll head for open space and try to level the playing field.

So, what is the Federation Intrepid Fleet? As mentioned previously, anyone playing Fantasy Trek now can join or create an RPG Fleet. The fleet will be named after the flagship, and will be a permanent fixture. Any damage sustained stays until its repaired. Ships 'destroyed' in combat will be assumed to be incapacitated and towed to a friendly port. The same ship that goes into combat will take part in stories. I may even adapt the Head to Head Sector Assault rules to allow for the multi-class fleets currently operating in Fifty Points (which we hope will return next week). Here are turns 1 through 11:

Turn 1)

(0810.21)

System 1:black hole accretion disc Intrepid Fleet FIF-FCA Contact: 5 KCA's *lost toss: Intrepid FIF-FCA1 Valiant FIF-FCA2 Potemkin FIF-FCA3 Monitor FIF-FCA4 Hornet FIF-FCA5 Merimac FIF-FCA6 vs KCA 1-5. KCA 1-5 destroyed. Damage to FIF-FCA: Intrepid FIF-FCA1: damage 22/35 Valiant FIF-FCA2 damage: 5/35 Potemkin FIF-FCA3 damage: 6/35 Monitor FIF-FCA4 No Damage Hornet FIF-FCA5 damage: 6/35 Merimac FIF-FCA6 damage: 7/35. Intrepid Fleet FIF-FCA departs for open space.

System 5:nebula Kolikos Fleet KLKF-KCA contact 6 FCA's *won toss Ok'rand KLKF-KCA1 K'mak KLKF-KCA2 Thok'mak KLKF-KCA3 qu'eygh KLKF-KCA4 N'sara KLKF-KCA5 Kolikos KLKF-KCA6 vs FCA 1-6. FCA 1-6 destroyed. Klingons undamaged. System Secure.

Turn 2)

(0810.21)

Open Space (System 1-System 2) Intrepid Fleet FIF FCA (Intrepid FIF-FCA1 damage 22/35 Valiant FIF-FCA2 damage 5/35 Potemkin FIF-FCA3 damage 6/35 Monitor FIF-FCA4 No Damage Hornet FIF-FCA5 damage 6/35 Merimac FIF-FCA6 damage 7/35) arrives, search for convoy turn 1 contact: Kfr1-5, KCA1 *won toss Intrepid FIF-FCA1 damage 22/35 Valiant FIF-FCA2 damage 5/35 Potemkin FIF-FCA3 damage 6/35 Monitor FIF-FCA4 No Damage Hornet FIF-FCA5 damage 6/35 Merimac FIF-FCA6 damage 7/35 vs Kfr1-5, KCA1. Kfr1-5, KCA1 destroyed. No damage to Feds. Klingons Random Fleet at -1. Intrepid Fleet FIF FCA (Intrepid FIF-FCA1 damage 22/35 Valiant FIF-FCA2 damage 5/35 Potemkin FIF-FCA3 damage 6/35 Monitor FIF-FCA4 No Damage Hornet FIF-FCA5 damage 6/35 Merimac FIF-FCA6 damage 7/35) departs for System 2

System 5:nebula Kolikos Fleet KLKF-KCA (Ok'rand KLKF-KCA1 K'mak KLKF-KCA2 Thok'mak KLKF-KCA3 qu'eygh KLKF-KCA4 N'sara KLKF-KCA5 Kolikos KLKF-KCA6) construct KSY1- 1/3 contact: 6 FCA's.*lost toss. Ok'rand KLKF-KCA1 K'mak KLKF-KCA2 Thok'mak KLKF-KCA3 qu'eygh KLKF-KCA4 N'sara KLKF-KCA5 Kolikos KLKF-KCA6 vs FCA 1-6. FCA 1-6 destroyed. Klingons undamaged.

Turn 3)

(0810.24)

System 2: Nebula Intrepid Fleet FIF FCA (Intrepid FIF-FCA1 damage 21/35 Valiant FIF-FCA2 damage 4/35 Potemkin FIF-FCA3 damage 5/35 Monitor FIF-FCA4 No Damage Hornet FIF-FCA5 damage 5/35 Merimac FIF-FCA6 damage 6/35) arrives. Contact: 5 KCA's *lost toss KCA1-5 vs Intrepid FIF-FCA1 damage 21/35 Valiant FIF-FCA2 damage 4/35 Potemkin FIF-FCA3 damage 5/35 Monitor FIF-FCA4 No Damage Hornet FIF-FCA5 damage 5/35 Merimac FIF-FCA6 damage 6/35

System 5:nebula Kolikos Fleet KLKF-KCA (Ok'rand KLKF-KCA1 K'mak KLKF-KCA2 Thok'mak KLKF-KCA3 qu'eygh KLKF-KCA4 N'sara KLKF-KCA5 Kolikos KLKF-KCA6) construct KSY1- 2/3 contact: 1 FCA. FCA1 vs Ok'rand KLKF-KCA1 K'mak KLKF-KCA2 Thok'mak KLKF-KCA3 qu'eygh KLKF-KCA4 N'sara KLKF-KCA5 Kolikos KLKF-KCA6. FCA1 destroyed. Klingons undamaged.

Turn 3)

(0810.26)

System 2: Nebula Intrepid Fleet FIF FCA (Intrepid FIF-FCA1 damage 21/35 Valiant FIF-FCA2 damage 4/35 Potemkin FIF-FCA3 damage 5/35 Monitor FIF-FCA4 No Damage Hornet FIF-FCA5 damage 5/35 Merimac FIF-FCA6 damage 6/35) Repair all ships turn 1/2 contact: No contact

System 5:nebula Kolikos Fleet KLKF-KCA (Ok'rand KLKF-KCA1 K'mak KLKF-KCA2 Thok'mak KLKF-KCA3 qu'eygh KLKF-KCA4 N'sara KLKF-KCA5 Kolikos KLKF-KCA6) construct KSY1- 3/3 contact: No contact.

Turn 4)

(0810.26)

System 2: Nebula Intrepid Fleet FIF FCA (Intrepid FIF-FCA1 damage 21/35 Valiant FIF-FCA2 damage 4/35 Potemkin FIF-FCA3 damage 5/35 Monitor FIF-FCA4 No Damage Hornet FIF-FCA5 damage 5/35 Merimac FIF-FCA6 damage 6/35) Repair all ships turn 2/2 contact: No contact.

System 5:nebula Kolikos Fleet KLKF-KCA (Ok'rand KLKF-KCA1 K'mak KLKF-KCA2 Thok'mak KLKF-KCA3 qu'eygh KLKF-KCA4 N'sara KLKF-KCA5 Kolikos KLKF-KCA6) on station. KSY1- Construct etlh' EF-KCA1 1/3. Contact: 6 FCA's.*lost toss. FCA1-6 destroyed. KSY damage 32/35. Other Klingons undamaged.

Turn 5)

(0810.26)

System 2: Nebula Intrepid Fleet FIF FCA Intrepid FIF-FCA1 Valiant FIF-FCA2 Potemkin FIF-FCA3 Monitor FIF-FCA4 Hornet FIF-FCA5 Merimac FIF-FCA6) construct FSY1 Turn 1/3 Contact: 1 KCA. Intrepid FIF-FCA1 Valiant FIF-FCA2 Potemkin FIF-FCA3 Monitor FIF-FCA4 Hornet FIF-FCA5 Merimac FIF-FCA6 vs KCA1, KCA1 destroyed. Feds undamaged.

System 5:nebula Kolikos Fleet KLKF-KCA (Ok'rand KLKF-KCA1 K'mak KLKF-KCA2 Thok'mak KLKF-KCA3 qu'eygh KLKF-KCA4 N'sara KLKF-KCA5 Kolikos KLKF-KCA6) on station. KSY1- Construct etlh' EF-KCA1 2/3. Contact: 6 FCA's.*lost toss. FCA1-6 destroyed. KSY damage 32/35. Other Klingons undamaged.

Turn 6)

(0810.26)

System 2: Nebula Intrepid Fleet FIF FCA Intrepid FIF-FCA1 Valiant FIF-FCA2 Potemkin FIF-FCA3 Monitor FIF-FCA4 Hornet FIF-FCA5 Merimac FIF-FCA6) construct FSY1 Turn 2/3 Contact: No contact

System 5:nebula Kolikos Fleet KLKF-KCA (Ok'rand KLKF-KCA1 K'mak KLKF-KCA2 Thok'mak KLKF-KCA3 qu'eygh KLKF-KCA4 N'sara KLKF-KCA5 Kolikos KLKF-KCA6) on station. KSY1- Construct etlh' EF-KCA1 3/3. KLKF-KCA repair KSY1 Turn 1/2 Contact: 2 FCA's. Ok'rand KLKF-KCA1 K'mak KLKF-KCA2 Thok'mak KLKF-KCA3 qu'eygh KLKF-KCA4 N'sara KLKF-KCA5 Kolikos KLKF-KCA6 vs FCA1,2. FCA1-2 destroyed. Klingons undamaged.

Turn 7)

(0810.26)

System 2: Nebula Intrepid Fleet FIF FCA Intrepid FIF-FCA1 Valiant FIF-FCA2 Potemkin FIF-FCA3 Monitor FIF-FCA4 Hornet FIF-FCA5 Merimac FIF-FCA6) construct FSY1 Turn 3/3 Contact: No contact

System 5:nebula Kolikos Fleet KLKF-KCA (Ok'rand KLKF-KCA1 K'mak KLKF-KCA2 Thok'mak KLKF-KCA3 qu'eygh KLKF-KCA4 N'sara KLKF-KCA5 Kolikos KLKF-KCA6) on station. etlh' EF-KCA1 complete KSY1- Construct Km'bell EF-KCA2 1/3. KLKF-KCA repair KSY1 Turn 2/2 Contact: No contact

Turn 8)

(0810.27)

System 2: Nebula Intrepid Fleet FIF FCA (Intrepid FIF-FCA1 Valiant FIF-FCA2 Potemkin FIF-FCA3 Monitor FIF-FCA4 Hornet FIF-FCA5 Merimac FIF-FCA6) on station. FSY1 complete Construct Constitution II FCF-FCA1 Turn 1/3 Contact: no contact

System 5:nebula Kolikos Fleet KLKF-KCA (Ok'rand KLKF-KCA1 K'mak KLKF-KCA2 Thok'mak KLKF-KCA3 qu'eygh KLKF-KCA4 N'sara KLKF-KCA5 Kolikos KLKF-KCA6) on station. etlh' EF-KCA1 on station KSY1- Construct Km'bell EF-KCA2 2/3 Contact: no contact

Turn 9)

(0810.28)

System 2: Nebula Intrepid Fleet FIF FCA (Intrepid FIF-FCA1 Valiant FIF-FCA2 Potemkin FIF-FCA3 Monitor FIF-FCA4 Hornet FIF-FCA5 Merimac FIF-FCA6) on station. FSY1 complete Construct Constitution II FCF-FCA1 Turn 2/3 Contact: 2 KCA's. KCA 1,2 vs Intrepid FIF-FCA1 Valiant FIF-FCA2 Potemkin FIF-FCA3 Monitor FIF-FCA4 Hornet FIF-FCA5 Merimac FIF-FCA6 FSY1. KCA 1,2 destroyed. No damage to Feds.

System 5:nebula Kolikos Fleet KLKF-KCA (Ok'rand KLKF-KCA1 K'mak KLKF-KCA2 Thok'mak KLKF-KCA3 qu'eygh KLKF-KCA4 N'sara KLKF-KCA5 Kolikos KLKF-KCA6) on station. etlh' EF-KCA1 on station KSY1- Construct Km'bell EF-KCA2 3/3 Contact: No contact

Turn 10)

(0810.30)

System 2: Nebula Intrepid Fleet FIF FCA (Intrepid FIF-FCA1 Valiant FIF-FCA2 Potemkin FIF-FCA3 Monitor FIF-FCA4 Hornet FIF-FCA5 Merimac FIF-FCA6) on station. FSY1 complete Construct Constitution II FCF-FCA1 Turn 3/3 Contact: 1 KCA's. KCA1 vs Intrepid FIF-FCA1 Valiant FIF-FCA2 Potemkin FIF-FCA3 Monitor FIF-FCA4 Hornet FIF-FCA5 Merimac FIF-FCA6 FSY1. KCA 1 destroyed. No damage to Feds.

System 5:nebula Kolikos Fleet KLKF-KCA (Ok'rand KLKF-KCA1 K'mak KLKF-KCA2 Thok'mak KLKF-KCA3 qu'eygh KLKF-KCA4 N'sara KLKF-KCA5 Kolikos KLKF-KCA6) on station. etlh' EF-KCA1 Km'bell EF-KCA2 on station KSY1- Construct Amar EF-KCA3 1/3 Contact: No contact

Turn 11)

(0810.30)

System 2: Nebula Intrepid Fleet FIF FCA (Intrepid FIF-FCA1 Valiant FIF-FCA2 Potemkin FIF-FCA3 Monitor FIF-FCA4 Hornet FIF-FCA5 Merimac FIF-FCA6) on station Constitution II FCF-FCA1 on station. FSY1- Construct Joseph Butler FCF-FCA2 Turn 1/3 Contact: No contact

System 5:nebula Kolikos Fleet KLKF-KCA (Ok'rand KLKF-KCA1 K'mak KLKF-KCA2 Thok'mak KLKF-KCA3 qu'eygh KLKF-KCA4 N'sara KLKF-KCA5 Kolikos KLKF-KCA6) on station. etlh' EF-KCA1 Km'bell EF-KCA2 on station KSY1- Construct Amar EF-KCA3 2/3 Contact: No contact

What Are Your Orders, Captain?

"Parallel Effect" (TMP Era) Solution

While enroute to an ion storm near the Sol System, Captain Morgan Bateson of the USS Bozeman encounters a ship, named UFS Challenger, that claims to have launched from Earth in the year 2152. According to Challenger's captain, they were on a mission to colonize a habitable planet in the 40 Eridanii A system when they suffered an attack by unidentified forces and become lost. They only request assistance in being set back on the proper heading, as the population on Earth is desperate for the mission to succeed. Checking all relevant archives, Captain Bateson finds no record of any such ship launching from Earth. However, scans of Challenger and her crew reveal that they are exactly they claim to be. Captain Bateson concludes that they must come from some parallel universe, but can determine no way of returning them. He also knows that the fragile Challenger would never survive the approaching ion storm. While he has no desire to interfere with Challenger's mission, he cannot find a way to return them, nor does he know what to do with them in his universe.

What Are Your Orders, Captain?

Captain Bateson decides that this represents a unique prime directive situation. The Challenger, while capable of faster-than-light travel, comes from a reality that is technologically inferior to the Federation. Whatever forces swept the strange ship into its circumstances could just as easily sweep it right back. So he sets them back on their course and advises them of a way to steer around the ion storm.

TNG Era

During the Dominion War, the Vorcha Class IKS DetaQ is on a mission to destroy a Cardassian troop ship that has been reported crossing into Klingon space. When you finally catch it, it is still in Klingon space, but only hours from crossing back into Cardassian territory. Upon approach, you note that it is in fact full of Klingons. There are no other allied ships in range, and the Cardassian ship's crew complement is more than twice that of the DetaQ, meaning that your chances of capturing the ship to liberate the prisoners are minimal. You could easily destroy it. but at the cost of more than a hundred captive and dishonored Klingons.

What Are Your Orders, Captain?

Post your solution in the YahooGroup or through the blogsite's 'comment' feature.

"Captain's Log"

Write a 100+ word log entry or story using the following phrase: "... more than a question of style..."

"I don't get it," Jim Kirk muttered angrily

Pike smiled wryly and began to step through the door. "You will." Then the door was closed and he was gone.

"I don't," Kirk glowered at the closed door. "I said I don't get it!"

"That makes two of us," Admiral Kirk added with a resigned grin. "That was Chris Pike?"

"Nobody calls him Chris. I don't think his parents even call him 'Chris'. That was Admiral Christopher Horatio Pike. Who the hell are you?"

"Call me Jim. I'm afraid I don't recognize your uniform. Who-?"

"James Tiberius Kirk. USS Enterprise. Starfleet. I suppose they didn't have uniforms this nice when you got your first command."

Admiral Kirk's eyes widened, but he covered it by smiling. "Oh, we had something like that, but the collars were hell, and the fabric didn't breath."

"Look, I don't understand where we are, or why we're here. And I really don't get why my uniform is so important to you."

Admiral Kirk suddenly started to take in his surroundings. "Actually the uniform is the least important-"

"Then wha-" Jim Kirk stopped in mid sentence as he too took in his surroundings. "Where are we?"

"I've been here before, long ago, and strangely enough, on a planet lightyears away. It's a bar, called 'The Captain's Table'."

Jim Kirk picked a glass up off the bar and blew a thick coating of dust off of it. "Must be a pretty popular place." He started to open up cabinets and compartments. "Do they serve Budweiser classic in this place?"

Admiral Kirk moved behind the bar like he owned it, and pulled out a dusty bottle. "This is better. Saurian Brandy." He poured two drinks, handing one to Jim. "Cheers."

Jim Kirk drank it in one shot and grimaced. "How long has that been sitting there?"

Kirk lifted the curve-necked bottle and looked. "2265."

"Good trick," the younger one answered. "Last time I checked, it was 2263."

"This isn't your typical bar," Kirk said. "Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?"

"How personal?"

"Personal. It's important." Kirk poured another shot of brandy. "About your father."

Jim Kirk threw the shot back. "If you have to. I don't know too much about him."

"Let me put it this way. How much are you your father's son?"

Jim looked away, his eyes moving along a wall that had several empty mounts where decorations must have been displayed. "Kind of hard to say, considering that he died about thirty seconds after I was born."

"Sorry. I could have put that better. What I meant to ask was, how has your life been shaped by him? By how he died?"

"It didn't help. I grew up with a stepfather that hated me, and a mother who spent more time off-planet than on."

Admiral Kirk looked at the younger Kirk, taking him in fully. He was different. Very different. And it was so much more than a question of style "Yet you've grown past all that."

"I didn't have much of a choice," Kirk answered. "And if it hadn't been for Pike..." His words trailed off. "Who are you? Where do I know you from?"

"I knew my father. He inspired me to do the things I've done. But where you've had Admiral Pike, I lost that mentor. I also lost a son."

Jim Kirk was suddenly uncomfortable with the older man's obvious pain. "Sorry to hear that."

"I've come to terms with it. It'll always be there, but you learn to live with it. But..."

"But what?"

Admiral Kirk answered by pouring a third drink. "Take this one a bit slower, Jim. Enjoy it." He raised the glass to the young man who was so much him, and so much someone completely different. "To missed opportunities."

For next week. write a 100+ word log entry including the phrase "... I shall do neither...". Post it in the yahoo group or on the blogsite's "comment" feature for a Command College Point.

Dev Notes:

You'd think, if you were just following these summaries, that Fantasy Trek was back in hibernatio. But in fact it isn't. It's been a matter of the work that goes into writing, more than anything else. RL and especially RL work has been tiring and distracting. But I notice that website traffic is healthy. Somebody from "London, City of" is a regular visitor. Columbia, South Carolina has been on more than once. Moscow and Las Vegas have also stopped in. Folks, please feel free to comment. I am eager to hear from you. If you want to play, there is a tutorial up, with more to come. And casual gaming is being introduced. Co-op play will also some day, somehow be a part of Fantasy Trek. If you don't get the point of it all, don't feel bad. Ask me. I want Fantasy Trek to be a game for people to enjoy. Role-Playing, writing, chatting.

As mentioned before, Role Playing Fleets are up and running. Start your own, follow others. Watch for a “Leader’s Board”. I am working on concepts for a card game, half poker, half collectible card game.

Follow Fantasy Trek at http://www.twitter.com/fantasy_trek

Kapact's Rant: "Burning Issue"

2010-09-09T10:22:00.000-07:00

Pastor Terry Jones, like so many extremists, just doesn't get it, and he is likely to get a good talking to from God some day. As many people have said, just because you have a right to do something, that doesn't make it right. (Imam Rauf, you listening?) You don't make the world a better place by burning books. You don't do it by encouraging hate and ignorance. Read the book. Read the bible. Talk to the Lord about what you should be teaching your flock. Then apologize. You will be forgiven.

Kapact's Rant: "The Real Racist"

2010-09-02T10:48:00.000-07:00

Dr Martin Luther King Jr spoke quite eloquently about the need for us to stop seeing and judging each other, not by the color of our skin, but by the content of our character. I think he would be greatly disappointed that the Reverend Al Sharpton has claimed the 28th of August and the Lincoln Memorial, for 'us'. For 'our day'. How is it, Reverend, that your shouted words are not racism? How do you honor the memory of Dr King by closing off the date, the historic place, the celebration of that date and speech and the ideas of Dr King to all but you? The rally wasn't political, as reported even by the leftwing media. It wasn't racially motivated, as evidenced by the presence of Dr King's niece. For that matter, the Tea Party itself, which was a force behind the event, has many many African Americans. I'd say they are doing a better job handling (or tossing out) the race issue than you are. Be honest with yourself. When you are, you'll realize that the problem in this situation is in fact you. You are displaying racism and spreading hate. You are willing to ignore the spirit of a great man and his great work to satisfy your own agenda. At that point, maybe you'll see the light. If you are truly serving the Lord, that should be your only interest.

The dilemma of the Reverend Al Sharpton in fact reminds me of a very sad thing that happened to someone in my apartment complex. This man is an African American who, though he is obviously quite healthy and competent, manages to live his entire life on disability benefits. This has enabled him to life rent-free (the money is given to him), sit around all day long smoking pot, drinking beer, and barbecuing steaks. That is his life. Or rather, that was his life. He apparently could no longer stand the stress and strain of his difficult life, because a few days ago, he grabbed a knife and started running around, spouting the "N -word" more times that Dr Laura ever tried, looking for someone to kill. First off, wrong for me is wrong for you. Stop saying it or stop being offended by it. If you want to be treated with respect, you have to treat others with respect. And maybe, just maybe, despite everything that Big Brother... oh, excuse me, I mean Mr Obama says, you won't feel any sense of satisfaction or self respect without earning your keep. Eventually, 'empty' won't sustain you, and dependency will let you down. And Reverend Sharpton, eventually racism and lies will come home to roost.

Kapact's Sci Fi Buzz: Biometrics and New Trek games

2010-08-26T08:59:00.000-07:00

Kapact's Sci-Fi Buzz wil take a weekly look at the latest science and science fiction on the internet. Some information will be compiled from other sources. Attribution, when known, will always be provided.

This first science fact item comes from Donna Miles of the American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Aug. 20, 2010 - Considered a battlefield curiosity just a few years ago, biometrics has become recognized as a vital warfighting capability. Now, defense officials see the same technology as a key to helping the Defense Department make its business practices more efficient.

Biometrics, the science of using unique physical and behavioral characteristics to identify a person, has proven to be invaluable to the warfighter's toolbox, Myra S. Gray, director of the Army's Biometrics Identity Management Agency, told American Forces Press Service.

"Five years ago, it was something very new, and the capability wasn't fully understood. It was kind of an add-on to the mission," she said. "Now it's an integral part of the mission because people have seen the value that it brings."

Gray's office, known as the Biometrics Task Force until it was redesignated in March, is responsible for capitalizing on biometrics technology and promoting new advances to benefit the entire Defense Department.

Fingerprints and other personally identifying features such as a person's distinct iris, facial, palm and voice features have become particularly helpful in the intelligence and law enforcement arenas, she said.

They help combat troops tell friends from foes and identify potential terrorists before it's too late. They also provide a foolproof way to put names and faces to insurgent activities and to identify released detainees who have returned to terrorist activity.

"You can identify an individual and associate him with certain actions," Gray said. "You can figure out who someone associated with and what they have been involved in. You can link events such as an [improvised explosive device] at one place and a protest at another. You build a picture of what has gone on."

Meanwhile, biometrics has become a vital tool in vetting people in the combat zone before they're granted access "inside the wire," or into secure or sensitive facilities. "We want to make sure that the people we permit onto our facilities are not the same people putting IEDs down," Gray explained.

Biometrics also is widely employed beyond the combat zone to control access to military facilities worldwide. For example, every military member, family member and Defense Department civilian employee has a common access identification card that's embedded with their fingerprints.

But other biometric technologies are in wide use throughout the military. At Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., for example, the Air Force uses a device that "reads" hand prints to clear veterans receiving treatment at the Veterans Affairs clinic for access to the base hospital. At Fort Belvoir, Va., the Army uses iris scanning technology to provide keyless entry to sensitive areas. And the Navy regularly uses biometrics equipment to confirm identifies as they board foreign vessels.

Gray anticipates broader use of this capability military-wide, particularly as the technology becomes increasingly faster, higher-quality and less obtrusive.

Among the more promising technologies the Defense Department is exploring are biometric systems able to scan people "on the move" without requiring them to touch anything or even stop. Commercial airports see this as a great way to eliminate long back-up lines at security checkpoints.

But Gray also recognizes warfighting applications, particularly at border crossings and other ports of entry where there's a mass movement of people and insurgents might try to blend in undetected.

"Those same ports of entry that legitimate business people or family members are crossing are the same places that the insurgents come across," she said. "By having this technology, you will have the ability to ferret out those who are hiding amongst the populace without negatively impacting the population."

Meanwhile, Gray anticipates broader use of biometrics off the battlefield, particularly as the department acts on Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates' mandate to improve efficiency.

"The next big step forward in biometrics is definitely going to be in the business process arena," she said. "It is truly a cross-cutting capability" she said can be applied in "a whole spectrum of functions, from the medical field to personnel to financial fields."

Biometrics can go a long way in streamlining recordkeeping, improving information-sharing and cutting out fraud ? not only for the Defense Department, but for the U.S. government as a whole, she said.

"We have a lot of benefits and a lot of services in which we rely on identifying someone so we can properly provide them what they need," Gray explained.

She cited just a few ways biometrics would improve the inter-department sharing that supports those benefits and services. Biometrics could help the Defense Department share military medical records with the VA, civilian employee records with the Office of Personnel Management and employee benefit records with the Social Security Administration.

"The big question is, 'How do we pull that thread of identity to make sure we are more efficient as the U.S. government in providing services?'" Gray said. "By integrating that across the U.S. government, we can find great efficiency."

Underlying this effort, she emphasized, is "a complete and total focus on privacy" that ensures all personally identifying information is protected in accordance with the Privacy Act.

"This is one of the foundations as we build this system," Gray said. "We are building these systems with a strong focus on making sure we are within the guidelines of the law and policy in protecting that information. That is paramount. We can't compromise on that."

The Science Fiction news this week is news of new Star Trek games from "Whizkids" with a planned 2011 release schedule, previewed at Gen Con. I was surprised to find that neither are computer games.

Star Trek: Fleet Captains is a competitive tactical game of space combat. Each player selects a fleet of ships, then uses a deck of mission cards based on ship type. Pick a science vessel and you'll take on "scan the planet for life signs" type missions. Pick a Bird of Prey and…you know.

While the details of gameplay were not revealed, they did show off fantastically detailed scale models of several Star Trek vessels.

The ships will use the familiar Wizkids click bases, but this game isn't just HeroClix with starships. Each ship's click dial has three sections based on Star Trek alert levels - yellow, orange and red. You can move your ship's dial to any position within your current alert level to take advantage of different capabilities, much like diverting power to the shields or the sensors, as the situation demands. Damage eventually moves you to the next alert level, and the higher alert levels have fewer dial slots to choose from. So as you take damage, your options become fewer. This particular mechanic is a nice simulation of captaining your own starship, and it also shows how the new Wizkids is using their primary gaming innovation (click bases) in even more innovative ways.

Star Trek: Expeditions is a cooperative game. It follows a classic Trek episode plot: a planet has requested entrance into the Federation, so the Enterprise is sent there to guide the process. When they arrive, they find that a Klingon warship is parked in orbit, threatening to obliterate the planet. Meanwhile, civil war is breaking out on the planet itself, and their leaders are trying to withdraw their application to join the Federation. It's a tangled mess, and you get to take on the role of a crew member trying to sort things out. See the four colored tokens near the top of the photo? Those will be fully painted heads representing four Enterprise crew members (J.J. Abrams movie version).You'll have to negotiate multiple plot threads and competing priorities with the help of your fellow captains. Gameplay borrows from "choose your own adventure" books - there are decks of cards, and choices the players make (or whether they succeed or fail at an action) will lead them to different cards and different choices. Expeditions is designed to be a narrative game that leaves the players feeling like they just created their own Star Trek episode. The game was designed by gaming legend Reiner Knizia. Both games are non-collectible - you'll get the whole shebang in one box. However, they are expandable, so expect future add-ons if they sell well. Expeditions should be out early in 2011 with a $49.99 retail price. Fleet Captains is planned to come out three months later, but the price point hasn't been settled yet.

The majority of this article originally appeared on Robot Viking. The author of this post can be contacted at tips@io9.com

For myself, I'm more interested in games that can be played single-player. For my own personal solution, look at http://fantasytrek.blogspot.com Anyone reading this is encouraged to comment or submit news or articles.

Sources this week were http://www.io9.com/ and American Forces Press Service

Star Trek Enterprise Retro-Spective "Cold Front"

2010-08-26T08:46:00.000-07:00

The episode starts with Silik having his enhanced vision removed as punishment for not stopping Klaang from returning to Qo'noS, but is told he'll get it back if he succeeds in his next mission. Cut to...
After a disappointing movie night featuring "Night of the Killer Androids", the Enterprise is changing course to investigate a stellar nursery. We meet crewman Daniels, swapping shifts with crewman Taylor to serve the Captain his breakfast. Daniels takes an apparently unnecessary interest in the course change. Archer tells him anyway, declines a refill of orange juice, and Daniels disappears.

Enterprise makes it to the stellar nursery and finds ships inside. They communicate with one, a freighter. Captain Fraddock tells Archer that he is carrying pilgrims to the Great Plume of Agosoria. He explains that every eleven years, one of the protostars gives out a neutron blast. The pilgrims believe it's a sacred event. Archer invites them all over for dinner (assuming that they can eat human food). Everyone but Fraddock comes over, and they get a tour of the ship. While there, the pilgrims explain that they believe that the stellar nursery is where the universe began, and the plume represents the continuing cycle of creation. Nice idea.

During the tour of engineering, one of the aliens breaks away from the group and opens up a panel. He uses Suliban shape-shifting tricks to sever three connections, then rejoins the group. Shortly thereafter, the Enterprise is caught by the edge of a plasma storm and gets knocked around. In engineering, they get in trouble when a plasma bolt hits the warp manifold and begins an antimatter cascade that will destroy the ship in seconds. Then, suddenly the problem is over as quick as it started. Trip tells Archer how it was stopped, and that nobody in engineering did it. After determining that none of the pilgrims took credit, Archer is confronted by Daniels who convinces Archer to meet with him by having knowledge of the Suliban and what Archer did on the helix (in Broken Bow). Daniels reveals that he's from 900 years in the future. He is part of an organization enforcing laws that regulate time travel. To that end he is hunting Silik, because Silik is working for another faction, represented by 'Future Guy'. Daniels reveals that Silik was the one who stopped the reactor breach, but won't say whether that was Silik's mission. Then he tells Archer that he needs to tie into Enterprise's internal sensors to find Silik. Archer is skeptical, but Daniels convinces him he's on the up and up. Next Archer briefs T'Pol and Trip.

A few minutes later, Trip and Daniels are in Engineering. At one point, Daniels puts a device on his hand, like a futuristic glove, to walk through a bulkhead and fix something.

Meanwhile, Silik shows up in Archer's quarters, threatens him, and wants to know who is looking for him. He tells Archer that he saved Enterprise because he was ordered to. He also says that the people who are supposedly trying to enforce the Temporal Accords are just another faction. During the course of the conversation, T'Pol calls to announce that Daniels is eager to get started. Silik thanks Archer for the help and shoots him with a stun blast.

Then, as Trip and Daniels are starting their search, Silik shows up from thin air (as always) and shoots Daniels. Daniels ripples and seems to blow apart. After that, Silik has Daniels' holoprojector device (that the Temporal Cops use to track events through the timelines) and he is headed for the launch bay. Archer uses Daniels' magic glove to walk through bulkheads to get to Silik. Silik threatens Archer, who shoots the holoprojector out of Silik's hands. Silik threatens him again, and opens the bay doors. As Archer holds on, Silik dives into space where he is picked up by a cell ship. Archer finally gets the door closed.

In the aftermath, they let the Suliban ship go, and Archer goes to bed. The next morning, he puts a security seal on Daniels' quarters. End of episode.

Cold Front picked up the crucial Temporal Cold War theme that formed the real basis for the series. It introduced the wonderful character of Daniels, who is still amazingly alive and well. It was fast moving and well written. Silik was nicely menacing even while saving the ship, (though they never explained who if anyone tried to destroy it), while Daniels was mysterious and actually funny. Especially in the following passage:

TUCKER: The grid can handle it. So I take it your brother isn't really an orbital engineer at Jupiter Station.

DANIELS: Actually, I don't have a brother.

TUCKER: And you didn't grow up in Illinois.

DANIELS: Oh, I'm from a place called Illinois, sir. Just not the one you're familiar with.

TUCKER: It's good to know Earth will still be around in nine hundred years.

DANIELS: That depends on how you define Earth.

TUCKER: Beg your pardon?

"Cold Front" was an excellent example of how good Enterprise can be when it follows a good storyline. It is also a fine example of just how good the writing is on Enterprise, particularly during the first season, when Trek series typically struggle. The last series that was, in my opinion, so dependably good in its first season was TOS. Absolutely enthusiastic thumbs up.

Next Up: "Silent Enemy"

Poetry "Never and Always"

2010-08-23T09:57:00.000-07:00

how thick is the strand that binds thee and thou?

how do you still cling to me somehow?

thick as our world now ripped apart
thin as mere words burned into my heart

as it was in the dawn of our days
as it is today
as it shall be for all tomorrows

unbreakable
tenuous
invisible
obvious

this is human heart
and its hold over the vulcan soul
your body lost to me
but our bond-
still whole

chaos took what destiny started
no time to grieve last hand never clutched
parted from me but never parted
never and always touching and touched.

Headlines From the Edge: "Obama Issues Primary Challenge to Self"

2010-08-20T08:36:00.000-07:00

Finally winding up the last few stops of the campaign that landed him in office almost two years ago, President Obama has already started setting his sights on the 2012 election.

He didn't let his vacation, (now in its sixth week), stop him from making carefully choreographed surprise stops. In one, the President took time out to address the nation. "If the previous administration thinks they're going to get away with pulling the wool over the eyes of the American people, they've got another thing coming," Obama said. "Are you better off than you were when I walked in here? Heck no! What you really need is for me to come in and fix this mess we've inherited. And how many times are we going to hear 'hope and change' before it becomes 'hope things change'? You can go back to the failed policies of the past, or you can stick with me." The unscripted tirade which capped off the rare Obama press conference lasted more than ten minutes before the broadcast was cut and replaced with a rerun of "I Love Lucy". TOTUS, the official Presidential Teleprompter Of The United States could not be reached for comment.

Kapact's Rant: A Letter to the President

2010-08-19T09:38:00.000-07:00

Sir:
I would like to speak to you as a fellow American citizen. As a conservative. As someone who didn't vote for you, and as someone gravely distressed with the job you have done as President of the United States. I would like to speak to you, at the same time, as someone who respects the office of the president.

I wonder, sir, if you truly understand why it is that so many people disapprove of what you have done since taking office. I cannot speak for the people who once supported you but don't anymore, but I can speak for myself. I think it likely that what troubles me about your job performance also troubles many others.

Firstly, sir, I don't care about your race. That doesn't come into it, but people who call me a racist because i disagree with you are in fact racist themselves. I'm not a racist, and I greatly resent being called one. As a white male, I have been subject to both racism and gender discrimination. They are both evil practices, and none of us are immune from them. Don't allow yourself the luxury of thinking that people who disagree with you must be racist.

Before I talk about your work, I'd like to briefly talk about the previous administration. As president, you certainly inherited big problems. That is obvious. But I'd like to simply point out that you have been president for almost two years. Whether you've had sufficient time to fix those problems or not, there does come a time when you should stop blaming others. Whether or not you have a valid point, I feel that you should stop telling us why we still have a crisis and start telling us exactly what's being done to solve it. And to be fair, sir, the democratic Congress that we have now was in power for the last two of the eight years of the Bush administration. Indeed, sir, you were part of that Congress. So it begs the question, sir. What were you doing then, as a member of the majority in the branch of government that held the nation's purse strings?

One of the major focuses of your term has been the stimulus. Granted, there was a previous stimulus package that didn't seem to do much. But that was another president. The same Congress, but a different president. Now we have another president and another stimulus. The same Congress, incidentally. But, sir, despite everything we hear about so many millions of jobs 'saved or created', there doesn't seem to have been any improvement. By the way, that expression 'saved or created' sounds disingenous. 'Saved or created' honestly sounds like a hypothetical accomplishment that someone might use to pad a resume. It is too non-specific to be impressive. 'Jobs created' is unverifiable, and therefore meaningless. We hear that things would have been so much worse. But after nearly two years and a stimulus of some 800 billion dollars, we should be hearing that things are better. Not that they could be worse. For all of the jobs 'saved or created', the jobless numbers are not improving. To sum it up, the results have matched neither the cost nor the promise.

Health Care reform has been a major initiative of your administration. I admire bold initiatives, and I don't think that anyone disputes the need to reform our health care system, and while the specifics (and indeed, the legality of it within the constraints of the Constitution) are obviously a subject of great dispute, people generally believe and fear that the Federal Government will control their health care. Is that true? Unfortunately, the law is so long and so shrouded in secrecy that most people don't know. And when information is kept from people, they fear the worst. You might say that the details were available online, but not everyone has time to read a two thousand page legal document, or has, for that matter, internet access. People felt like they were sold a very expensive mystery package, and they resented the backroom deals that were necessary to pass it. And speaking just for myself, while I need the health coverage, I honestly resent paying to care for someone who is unwilling to work or support themselves. And there are too many of them. Heatlh Care coverage should be no more than, say, ten dollars taken out my paycheck weekly to cover my family. What we have is a law that I fear will cost more than we can afford and not substantially change anything.

The biggesr thing, with these issues is their expense, and what seems a casual throwing around of billions of dollars. Speaking for myself, sir, I simply cannot see any result from the massive expense incurred so far, nor does it seem like anyone responsible for spending all of this money has any real appreciation for just how much has gone into accomplishing so little. Almost a trillion dollars and no change to the jobless rate. When you're talking that much money, 'saved or created' just doesn't impress. What we need is a program to create permanent jobs.

Some in conservative talk radio have said that they hoped that your programs fail. I don't think anyone truly wants our economy to get any worse, or for our country to be less secure than it is now. We can't afford to put partisan politics above the interests of our country, sir. So as a conservative, do I hope to see a democratic president succeed? As long as I believe you are helping the country, yes. But I can honestly say (and I don't think I'm alone), that based on your performance so far, I don't always believe that.

Fantasy Trek Summary of Events Stardate 0810.14

2010-08-14T07:50:00.000-07:00

It has been a good long time since I published a Summary of Events. Not retired, not out of ideas. Mrs Kapact and I have spent the peak of the summer in the desert southwest in an apartment without adequate air conditioning. So things sometimes get delayed. But the heat seems to be on the wane, the air conditioner is doing a bit better, and this August is in fact the fourth anniversary of Fantasy Trek. So we're back at work. There has been a number of developments in gameplay and formulas, etc, so rather than the standard summary, this is going to be, more than anything else, a big developer's diary. Expect the normal features, including Command College to return next week.

The normal ongoing games, like DusaQ VeS and Fifty Points and Medium Assault have not been played. I've been concentrating on an involved Mixed Mission. This involves standard Simple Combat games that start out in a medium asteroid field, continue with an assault on a weapons platform, and conclude with a repair rendezvous scenario. The idea is that you are ordered to investigate the disappearance of a friendly heavy cruiser. You must first penetrate an asteroid field, then fight off three enemy heavy cruisers. After destroying them, you discover an armored outpost that has information about the missing ship. Overcome the outpost's formidable defenses, download the info, then destroy the outpost. The data leads you to the damaged ship. Repair it quickly, and deal with the enemies who show up to destroy you.

It's a fun minigame, something to play on the bus, or during commercials. One of the things I wanted when I created Fantasy Trek. Here is some of the rpg written around that game:

Captain Sompek recovers warship Lancer

In Command of IKS Etlh, leading warships DuranQo and Lursor. We destroyed the three Tholian Kelva Class Heavy Cruisers, then downloaded the location of the Lancer from a heavily defended Tholian Weapon Platform. Then we warped to the Lancer and aided in its repair before destroying three Tholian frigates. Then we warped back to base. The mission was an overwhelming success.

volley 1 roll o 6 roll for damage

KCA1 evade?6 damage?4 /35 y

KCA2 evade? damage? /35 n

KCA3 evade?4 damage?3 /35 y

volley 2 roll of 5-6 roll for damage

KCA1 evade? damage? /35 n

KCA2 evade? damage? /35 n

KCA3 evade?5 damage?2 /35 y

volley 3 roll of 4-6 roll for damage

KCA1 evade?2 damage?3 1/35 y

KCA2 evade?5 damage?5 /35 y

KCA3 evade? damage? /35 n

volley 4 roll of 3-6 roll for damage

KCA1 evade? damage? 1/35 n

KCA2 evade?6 damage?4 /35 y

KCA3 evade?4 damage?5 1/35 y

volley 5 roll of 2-6 roll for damage

KCA1 evade? damage? 1/35 n

KCA2 evade?1 damage?4 3/35 y

KCA3 evade? damage? 1/35 n

*lost toss

KCA1 rolls:60 40(1)o/20d

KCA2 rolls:60 40(2)o/20d

KCA3 rolls:10 o/10d

CA1 rolls:10 o/10d/w

CA2 rolls:40 o/40d/w

CA3 rolls:30 30(3)o/d/w

results

KCA1 damage: 1/35

KCA2 damage: 3/35

KCA3 damage: 21/35

CA1 destroyed

CA2 destroyed

CA3 damage: /15

KCA1 rolls:30 30o/d

KCA2 rolls:50 50o/d

KCA3 rolls:20 20o/d

CA3 rolls:40 o/40d/w

results

KCA1 damage: 1/35

KCA2 damage: 3/35

KCA3 damage: 21/35

CA1 destroyed

CA2 destroyed

CA3 destroyed

KCA1 rolls:60 60o/d

KCA2 rolls:50 50o/d

KCA3 rolls:40 40o/d

X7WepPlat rolls:42 o/42d

results

KCA1 damage: /35

KCA2 damage: 2/35

KCA3 damage: 20/35

WepPlatdamage:destroyed

KCA1 rolls:1

KCA2 rolls: 6

KCA3 rolls: 5

X10Heavy Cruiser damage: 22/35

KCA1 rolls:2

KCA2 rolls:6

KCA3 rolls:1

X10Heavy Cruiser damage: 13/35

KCA1 rolls:1

KCA2 rolls:3

KCA3 rolls:3

X10Heavy Cruiser damage: 6/35

KCA1 rolls:40 31(1)o/9d

KCA2 rolls:30 15(1)15(2)o/d

KCA3 rolls:60 15(1)45(3)o/d

X10Heavy Cruiser rolls: o/d

X4Frigate rolls:24 o/16d/8(4)w

X4Frigate rolls:8 o/5(1)d/3(4)w

X4Frigate rolls:12 o/8(1)d/4(4)w

results

KCA1 damage: /35

KCA2 damage: 2/35

KCA3 damage: 20/35

X10Heavy Cruiser damage: 6/35

X4Frigate destroyed

X4Frigate destroyed

X4Frigate destroyed

Success

First Tutorial:

Now that Fantasy Trek has been keeping me away from worthier endeavours for four years now, I thought it might be good to actually make a tutorial. This first tutorial takes the player through the very basics of Simple Combat. You may or may not enjoy it, but you'll know how it's done.

You have completed every academic exercise that the Starfleet Academy Command College has to offer. You are among the best and the brightest. Now it's time to take the center seat as Captain.

While your missions will not be restricted to combat, it would be extremely unwise to turn you loose on the galaxy without the training required to defend your ship and crew. To that end, you have been assigned to the training vessel USS Yorktown, a Constitution II Class Heavy Cruiser. Once on board, you will report to the bridge and take command. Stand by for transport.

::Transport successful, Starfleet Command::

::Acknowledged. Escort the Captain to the bridge. Starfleet out.::

The Constitution Phase Two Class, also known as the Constitution II Class, is designed to be an all-around workhorse, capable of operating independently for extended periods, with minimal need for starbase support. It is based on the the original Constitution Class, a design still unparalleled in overall success in deep space. It is more than capable of undertaking a wide range of missions, from science to defense. It features science and medical labs that rival those of a starbase. Like the Galaxy Class, it is capable of Saucer Separation and Reintegration. Unlike the Galaxy Class, however, the Constitution II's saucer is capable of independent warp flight. You will find it a most capable ship.

::Captain on the bridge!::

Welcome to the bridge, and your first command. Open the sealed orders labeled "Command Training Mission One" and proceed accordingly.

Command Training Mission One

The Vulcans have asked us to help them out with a small problem. A solar probe of theirs in the Rigel system has begun to malfunction, and may fall into that system's sun. Normally that wouldn't be a problem, but this probe contains equipment that could cause solar flares that would wipe out the memory core of a nearby science station. The Vulcans have downloaded the data from the probe, and have asked us to destroy it before it falls into the sun. The Yorktown is the closest starship to Rigel, Captain, and this is the perfect opportunity to familiarize you with the Yorktown's offensive capabilities. Order your helm officer to set course for the Rigel sun.

::Course set for Rigel. Ahead, warp factor six.::

When you arrive, your helm officer will bring you into range of the solar probe and await your orders.

::We've arrived in the Rigel System, Captain. We have the probe in range. What are your orders?::

The Simple combat system is a quick and easy way of engaging in and resolving combat between starships and/or installations like shipyards and outposts in minutes. Here is a quick tutorial, pitting your Heavy Cruiser against the Vulcan solar probe:

In the single-player simple combat game, you roll for both sides. To start, you'll roll for your target first, then yourself. Later in the game you'll see how to change that and add more of a challenge to the simple combat game.

Roll a single 6-sided die (known as 1d6). That first roll will show the defensive capacity of the probe. Then roll the 6-sided die again, and multiply that number by 10 (the Heavy Cruiser Class has a multiplier of X10). That is the amount of energy you have to work with. Since the probe has no offensive capability, you can use all of your energy for weapons. Here is a sample roll:

X1Probe rolls: 6

X10(CA)Heavy Cruiser rolls:30

That is the allocation phase of simple combat. The results phase computes the results. For cadet missions, your ship is capable of sustaining 30 points of damage before it is destroyed. Your targets can sustain 15 points damage. In this example, the cadet ship did 24 points of damage to the probe, easily destroying it.

X1Probe damage: 24/15= destroyed.

X10(CA)Heavy Cruiser damage: /30

Now it's your turn. Roll for the probe, then for yourself:

X1Probe rolls:

X10(CA)Heavy Cruiser rolls: o/d

Now compute the damage:

X1Probe damage: /15

X10(CA)Heavy Cruiser damage: /30

Repeat, if necessary, until the probe has been destroyed. When you are finished, scroll down to your next orders.

Allocation-

X1Probe rolls:

X10(CA)Heavy Cruiser rolls: o/d

Results-

X1Probe damage: /15

X10(CA)Heavy Cruiser damage: /30

Allocation-

X1Probe rolls:

X10(CA)Heavy Cruiser rolls: o/d

Results-

X1Probe damage: /15

X10(CA)Heavy Cruiser damage: /30

Allocation-

X1Probe rolls:

X10(CA)Heavy Cruiser rolls: o/d

Results-

X1Probe damage: /15

X10(CA)Heavy Cruiser damage: /30

Congratultions on the success of your first mission. While you were busy, there was a report from the tenth planet in this system that requires your immediate response. Order your helm officer to perform an in-system warp to get you there.

::course already plotted, Captain. Awaiting your orders::

While you're in transit, I'll tell you what we know. A Feren ifreighter has left orbit with a shipment of Tylium ore that was stolenfrom an independent contractor. Tylium is extremely valuable, but also extremely volatile. Tylium fires have been known to burn away the atmospheres of entire planets when mishandled. Intercept the Ferengi and try to talk them into releasing their cargo. You are authorized to grant them amnesty if necessary. If that doesn't work, knock down the Ferengi's shields and beam the Tylium directly from their cargo bay. Despite its volatility, it is completely transporter safe. Do not destroy the Ferengi freighter.

::coming out of warp, Captain. The freighter is in communications and weapons range::

To order the Ferengi to surrender, roll a 1d6. A result of 1 or 2 means that they agree.

1d6=1,2: agree - 3-6 refuse

If they do not immediately agree, roll the 1d6 again. A result of 1,2 or 3 means that they agree. Anything else means they refuse, and are attempting to escape:

1d6=1,2,3: agree - 4-6 refuse

If they refuse, you'll have to engage them and bring down their shields. Here's how you do that.

We'll start with a template similar to the one you used earlier.

Allocation-

X2Freighter rolls: o/d

X10(CA)Heavy Cruiser rolls: o/d

Results-

X2Freighter damage: /15

X10(CA)Heavy Cruiser damage: /30

You can see that the freighter has a multiplier of X2. It also has offensive capabilities. You won't really have to worry about that, bu tit requires a bit of attention to bring down the Freighter's shields without destroying it. Shield strength is always one-fifth of a ship's damage potential. So if a ship has 15 points damage potential, you have to do 3 points damage to bring down the shields. Here is an example of how to do that:

Allocation-

--roll a 1d6 for the Ferengi, and multiply by X2--

X2Freighter rolls:4 o/4d

(with only 4 points available, you decide to allocate those points to defense)

-roll a 1d6 for your ship and multiply by X10--

X10(CA)Heavy Cruiser rolls:20 7o/13d

(in order to do only 3 points of damage, you must only allocate 7 points to offense. Put the rest on defense)

Results-

X2Freighter damage: 3/15

X10(CA)Heavy Cruiser damage: /30

With the Ferengi shields down, you are free to beam the cargo to your ship and release the Ferengi. Now it's your turn:

(Remember, whatever defense the Ferengi offers, put no more than 3 points more into your offense)

X2Freighter rolls: o/d

X10(CA)Heavy Cruiser rolls: o/d

Results-

X2Freighter damage: /15

X10(CA)Heavy Cruiser damage: /30

repeat as necessary until the Ferengi sustains 3/15 points damage, then scroll down to the next session.

X2Freighter rolls: o/d

X10(CA)Heavy Cruiser rolls: o/d

Results-

X2Freighter damage: /15

X10(CA)Heavy Cruiser damage: /30

X2Freighter rolls: o/d

X10(CA)Heavy Cruiser rolls: o/d

Results-

X2Freighter damage: /15

X10(CA)Heavy Cruiser damage: /30

X2Freighter rolls: o/d

X10(CA)Heavy Cruiser rolls: o/d

Results-

X2Freighter damage: /15

X10(CA)Heavy Cruiser damage: /30

X2Freighter rolls: o/d

X10(CA)Heavy Cruiser rolls: o/d

Results-

X2Freighter damage: /15

X10(CA)Heavy Cruiser damage: /30

X2Freighter rolls: o/d

X10(CA)Heavy Cruiser rolls: o/d

Results-

X2Freighter damage: /15

X10(CA)Heavy Cruiser damage: /30

Congratulations. You've just completed your first training mission. Return to Starbase One for debriefing.

Debriefing:

You are now familiar with the basic simple combat game. While there are

advanced variations, the premise remains the same. Every class ship has a multiplier. Roll a 1d6 for your opponent, and the same for you. The idea of rolling for your opponent may seem unusual, but it makes this simple text-based game a single player game. In developing this game, I've had more than two hundred single-player simple combat engagements, with which I have tweaked and adjusted the formula to what seems like a good balance. The single-player method works for me. It should work for you. There is, however, PvP (Player vs Player) which is a great challenge. During the Advanced Command Training Mission, you'll learn some interesting and challenging variations, as well as Boarding Party/Landing Party missions and Fleet engagements. In the Command Training Graduate Mission, you'll put it all together, and be given the chance to save the legendary Kobayashi Maru. One hint: Just like James T Kirk, in Fantasy Trek, we don't believe in the no-win scenario.

So how are we supposed to save the Kobayashi Maru? Beats me. Throw apples at the Klingons maybe?

Casual Gaming:

Based on feedback from a valuable source (my sister) regarding the Simple Combat Tutorial, and as a result, I've started work on a casual game. Similar to Simple Combat, but without multipliers or an allocation phase. Each ship class has a defense rating representing the amount of damage it can sustain, and once that it passed, the ship is out of the game. Depending on your preference, it is either destroyed or taken out of combat, towed to a friendly base for repair and debrief.

Using that idea, I did an initial run of the "Repair Rendezvous" Scenario from the "Starfleet Command" games that I have adapted for Fantasy Trek, giving the heavy cruiser a defensive rating of 20. The results were encouraging.

We start off with a Fed CA encountering another Fed CA that has sustained 19/20 damage. It has three rolls to repair the damaged ship. In these three rolls, it repaired 8 points of damage:

FCA1 rolls:2

FCA2 damage: 17/20

FCA1 rolls:3

FCA2 damage: 14/20

FCA1 rolls:3

FCA2 damage: 11/20

After that, the enemy (Klingon CA) appears. It automatically divides its fire between the two ships. If there is an odd number, the majority of fire goes to the damaged ship. I suppose, though, if I was the Klingon (hard as that is to imagine), I might try to finish off the damaged ship first. So obviously this is still a work in progress. But the casual format seems to work. Here are the rest of the logs:

FCA1 rolls:2

FCA2 rolls:1

KCA1 rolls:6

results

FCA1 damage: 3/20

FCA2 damage: 14/20

KCA1 damage: 3/20

FCA1 rolls:3

FCA2 rolls:2

KCA1 rolls:4

results

FCA1 damage: 5/20

FCA2 damage: 16/20

KCA1 damage: 8/20

FCA1 rolls:3

FCA2 rolls:4

KCA1 rolls:3

results

FCA1 damage: 6/20

FCA2 damage: 18/20

KCA1 damage: 15/20

FCA1 rolls:4

FCA2 rolls:5

KCA1 rolls:4

results

FCA1 damage: 8/20

FCA2 damage: 20/20 destroyed

KCA1 damage: 24/20 destroyed

I also created and worked through rules for the Klingon Mauler Cruiser. The Mauler Cruiser is a huge gun with a ship frame essentially built around it. The weapon itself has a capacitor which stores allocated energy that is fired after (no less than) three turns. It is heavily armored, taking 50 points damage (compared to the normal maximum 35). While it is building up its energy, it must allocate a minimum of one-third (1d6 roll, with a X10 multiplier) of its points to the weapon. Here is the Simple Combat Template (power allocation phase):

KCAM rolls: o{offense}/d{defense}/m{mauler}(/3){mauler allocation, turn

_of 3}

1st Turn:

-if a 6 is rolled, the allocation could be this:

KCAM rolls:60 o/40d/20(FCA1)m(1/3)

2nd Turn:

-if a 3 is rolled, the allocation could be this:

KCAM rolls:30 o/20d/10(FCA1)m(2/3)

3rd Turn:

-if a 2 is rolled, the allocation could be this:

KCAM rolls:20 o/13d/7(FCA1)m(3/3)

So on the third turn, the Mauler Cruiser would have a total of 37 points offensive capability. Note that on the 3rd turn, I rounded that 1/3rd up to a 7. Also, depending on the rolls of the other ships, the Mauler can put more than 1/3rd into its capacitor. So on that third turn, the Mauler could have potentially had a total of 110 points directed at its target.

In the combat logs below, I've noted whether the toss was won or not.

Interesting to note that the Klingons didn't lose on the first two turns, when it actually lost the toss. The third time, when the Klingons lost the toss. And of course, that is determined by rolling a 1-3 on a 1d6, and allows the player to roll first or second, just like the coin toss in a football game. Also of interest in the third round, the Mauler chooses to stop the build up of energy to go all defense. In that case, the energy is lost, and the Mauler, if it survives, starts over on the next round.

The combat logs show the importance of drawing first blood, of upsetting the balance of power in your favor.

Round One *lose toss

KCA1 rolls:30 o/30d

KCA2 rolls:60 o/30(3)30d

KCAM rolls:20 o/20d/m(/3)

FCA rolls:10 o/10d

FCA rolls:30 30(3)o/d

FCA rolls:30 30(3)o/d

results

KCA1 damage: /35

KCA2 damage: /35

KCAM damage: 10/50

FCA damage: /35

FCA damage: /35

FCA damage: /35

KCA1 rolls:30 o/15(3)15d

KCA2 rolls:20 o/10(3)10d

KCAM rolls: o/23d/17(1)m(1/3)

FCA rolls:50 25(3)o/25d

FCA rolls:20 o/20d

FCA rolls:10 10(3)o/d

results

KCA1 damage: /35

KCA2 damage: /35

KCAM damage: 10/50

FCA damage: /35

FCA damage: /35

FCA damage: /35

KCA1 rolls:30 o/15(3)15d

KCA2 rolls:60 20(2)o/20(3)20d

KCAM rolls:30 o/20d/10(1)m(2/3)

FCA rolls:30 15(3)o/15d

FCA rolls:30 10(3)o/20d

FCA rolls:10 o/10d

results

KCA1 damage: /35

KCA2 damage: /35

KCAM damage: 10/50

FCA damage: /35

FCA damage: /35

FCA damage: /35

KCA1 rolls:30 o/15(3)15d

KCA2 rolls:50 15(1)o/20(3)15d

KCAM rolls:40 o/d/40(1)m(3/3) 67

FCA rolls:20 o/20d

FCA rolls:50 25(3)o/25d

FCA rolls:20 10(3)o/10(1)d

results

KCA1 damage: /35

KCA2 damage: /35

KCAM damage: 10/50

FCA destroyed

FCA damage: /35

FCA damage: /35

KCA1 rolls:50 25(2)o/25d

KCA2 rolls:40 40(2)o/d

KCAM rolls:30 o/d/30(3)m(1/3)

FCA destroyed

FCA rolls:40 o/40d

FCA rolls:60 o/60d

results

KCA1 damage: /35

KCA2 damage: /35

KCAM damage: 10/50

FCA destroyed

FCA damage: 25/35

FCA damage: /35

KCA1 rolls:60 30(2)o/30d

KCA2 rolls:20 20(2)o/d

KCAM rolls:30 o/d/30(3)m(2/3)

FCA destroyed

FCA rolls:40 o/40d

FCA rolls:20 o/20(2)d

results

KCA1 damage: /35

KCA2 damage: /35

KCAM damage: 10/50

FCA destroyed

FCA destroyed

FCA damage: /35

KCA1 rolls:20 20o/d

KCA2 rolls:60 60o/d

KCAM rolls:10 o/d/10m(3/3) 60

FCA destroyed

FCA destroyed

FCA rolls:60 o/60d

results

KCA1 damage: /35

KCA2 damage: /35

KCAM damage: 10/50

FCA destroyed

FCA destroyed

FCA destroyed

Round Two *lose toss

KCA1 rolls:30 o/15(3)15d

KCA2 rolls:10 o/10d

KCAM rolls:40 o/30d/m(/3)

FCA rolls:30 15(3)o/15d

FCA rolls:30 30(3)o/d

FCA rolls:10 10(3)o/d

results

KCA1 damage: /35

KCA2 damage: /35

KCAM damage: 10/50

FCA damage: /35

FCA damage: /35

FCA damage: /35

KCA1 rolls:20 o/10(3)10d

KCA2 rolls:60 60(1)o/d

KCAM rolls:50 o/25d/25(3)m(1/3)

FCA rolls:30 15(3)o/15d

FCA rolls:40 20(3)o/20d

FCA rolls:20 o/20(1)d

results

KCA1 damage: /35

KCA2 damage: /35

KCAM damage: 10/50

FCA damage: 25/35

FCA damage: /35

FCA damage: /35

KCA1 rolls:60 20(1)o/20(3)20d

KCA2 rolls:60 60(2)o/d

KCAM rolls:40 o/26d/m14(3)(2/3) 25+

FCA rolls:50 o/50d

FCA rolls:20 o/20d

FCA rolls:50 20(2)o/40(2)d

results

KCA1 damage: /35

KCA2 damage: 20/35

KCAM damage: 10/50

FCA damage: 25/35

FCA damage: /35

FCA damage: /35

KCA1 rolls:40 o/20(3)20d

KCA2 rolls:10 o/10d

KCAM rolls:50 o/d/50m14(3)(3/3) 39+

FCA rolls:60 o/30(2)30d

FCA rolls:50 o/25(3)25d

FCA rolls:10 o/10d

results

KCA1 damage: /35

KCA2 damage: 20/35

KCAM damage: 10/50

FCA damage: 25/35

FCA damage: /35

FCA destroyed

KCA1 rolls:40 40(1)o/d

KCA2 rolls:40 40(1)o/d

KCAM rolls:60 o/d/60(2)m(1/3)

FCA rolls:60 o/60d

FCA rolls:40 15(2)25(1)o/d

FCA destroyed

results

KCA1 damage: 25/35

KCA2 destroyed

KCAM damage: 10/50

FCA destroyed

FCA damage: /35

FCA destroyed

KCA1 rolls:30 o/30d

KCA2 destroyed

KCAM rolls:10 o/d/m10(2)m(2/3) +60

FCA destroyed

FCA rolls:30 o/30d

FCA destroyed

results

KCA1 damage: 25/35

KCA2 destroyed

KCAM damage: 10/50

FCA destroyed

FCA damage: /35

FCA destroyed

KCA1 rolls:30 o/30d

KCA2 destroyed

KCAM rolls: o/d/10 m(3/3) +70

FCA destroyed

FCA rolls:60 o/60d

FCA destroyed

results

KCA1 damage: 25/35

KCA2 destroyed

KCAM damage: 10/50

FCA destroyed

FCA damage: 20/35

FCA destroyed

KCA1 rolls:20 20o/d

KCA2 destroyed

KCAM rolls: o/d/60m(1/3)

FCA destroyed

FCA rolls:10 o/10d

FCA destroyed

results

KCA1 damage: 25/35

KCA2 destroyed

KCAM damage: 10/50

FCA destroyed

FCA damage: 30/35

FCA destroyed

KCA1 rolls:10 o/10d

KCA2 destroyed

KCAM rolls:20 o/d/20m(2/3) +60

FCA destroyed

FCA rolls:30 30(1)o/d

FCA destroyed

results

KCA1 damage: 25/35

KCA2 destroyed

KCAM damage: 10/50

FCA destroyed

FCA damage: 30/35

FCA destroyed

KCA1 rolls:10 o/10d

KCA2 destroyed

KCAM rolls:40 o/26(1)d/14m(3/3) +80

FCA destroyed

FCA rolls:50 50(1)o/d

FCA destroyed

results

KCA1 destroyed

KCA2 destroyed

KCAM damage: 10/50

FCA destroyed

FCA destroyed

FCA destroyed

Round Three *won toss

KCA1 rolls:10 o/10d

KCA2 rolls:20 o/10(3)10d

KCAM rolls:60 o/40d/20(1)m(1/3)

FCA rolls:50 25(3)o/25d

FCA rolls:10 o/10d

FCA rolls:30 30(3)o/d

results

KCA1 damage: /35

KCA2 damage: /35

KCAM damage: 5/50

FCA damage: /35

FCA damage: /35

FCA damage: /35

KCA1 rolls:10 o/10d

KCA2 rolls:10 o/10d

KCAM rolls: o/60d/()m(/3) capacitor emptied

FCA rolls:60 30(3)o/30d

FCA rolls:60 60(3)o/d

FCA rolls:50 50(3)o/d

results

KCA1 damage: /35

KCA2 damage: /35

KCAM destroyed

FCA damage: /35

FCA damage: /35

FCA damage: /35

KCA1 rolls:10 o/10d

KCA2 rolls:60 40(2)o/d

KCAM destroyed

FCA rolls:10 o/10d

FCA rolls:20 20(1)o/d

FCA rolls:10 o/10(2)d

results

KCA1 damage: /35

KCA2 damage: 10/35

KCAM destroyed

FCA damage: /35

FCA damage: 30/35

FCA damage: /35

KCA1 rolls:40 20(2)o/20d

KCA2 rolls:50 30(2)o/20d

KCAM destroyed

FCA rolls:60 20(2)o/20(2)20d

FCA rolls:60 30(1)o/30d

FCA rolls:20 20(1)o/d

results

KCA1 damage: 30/35

KCA2 damage: 10/35

KCAM destroyed

FCA damage: /35

FCA damage: 30/35

FCA damage: /35

KCA1 rolls:30 o/30d

KCA2 rolls:40 40(2)o/d

KCAM destroyed

FCA rolls:20 o/20d

FCA rolls:10 o/10d

FCA rolls:60 30(2)o/30(2)d

results

KCA1 damage: 30/35

KCA2 destroyed

KCAM destroyed

FCA damage: /35

FCA damage: 30/35

FCA damage: /35

KCA1 rolls:10 o/10d

KCA2 destroyed

KCAM destroyed

FCA rolls:40 o/40(2)d

FCA rolls:60 60o/d

FCA rolls:50 50o/d

results

KCA1 destroyed

KCA2 destroyed

KCAM destroyed

FCA damage: /35

FCA damage: 30/35

FCA damage: /35

As you can see if you read through all of that, Mauler combat can be ugly. It is almost better for drawing enemy fire than as an offensive weapon system.

Follow Fantasy Trek at http://www.twitter.com/fantasy_trek

From the editor...

2010-08-03T12:19:00.001-07:00

To our valued readers:

Please forgive our mostly-silence. A very difficult summer in the desert southwest has slowed writing to a crawl. Please be patient, we'll be back soon...

The House Abukoff team...

Star Trek Enterprise Retro-Spective "Fortunate Son"

2010-08-03T12:02:00.000-07:00

Fortunate Son, like many Enterprise episodes, is quite simple. The ECS (Earth Cargo Ship) Fortunate Son is on its cargo run when it is attacked by Naussican pirates. A distress signal is sent, Enterprise is dispatched to help. They arrive to find the Fortunate Son damaged but under repairs with the first officer running things while the Captain recovers from serious injury. We first start to get an idea that all is not what it seems when the first officer of the Fortunate Son initially declines any help from the Enterprise. He eventually relents. We soon find out that the cargo haulers have captured one of the Naussicans and is interrogating him for shield frequencies.

While the Enterprise crew helps repair and upgrade the Fortunate Son (and Phlox helps the Captain), Mayweather gets to know the first officer. We learn that the 'boomers' are an independent breed who tend to look down on people who aren't boomers, or worse yet, boomers who leave the ECS fleet (as it were), for the cushy, easy life of an NX Class ship.

As repairs proceed, T'Pol detects the life signs of the injured Naussican on board the Fortunate Son. There is the inevitable confrontation. Archer threatens to take all of their spare parts, and the wily first officer of the Fortunate Son fools his way out the jam, leaving our heroes frustrated and left behind.

The Fortunate Son arrives at the Naussican base, thinking it is chasing a single ship and armed with the shield frequencies. As it turns out, there are three ships (I saw that coming), and the shield frequencies don't seem to work (I saw that coming too). They are in a bad spot and losing the fight.

On Enterprise, while they are speeding after the Fortunate Son, Mayweather confides in Archer that he has doubts about interfering with what his fellow boomers are doing. Archer makes a speech about the moral code we are all subject to, and how boomers are just as human even if they're born in space. Mayweather comes around (way too easily for my taste), and they continue.

They finally arrive, just in time to save the Fortunate Son. They eventually convince the Naussicans to let the Fortunate Son go in return for their hostage. In the last scene, Archer talks to the fully recovered captain of the Fortunate Son. He says that the first officer will be punished but kept on the team and put to work. He tries to get Archer to have a drink with him, but Archer declines, because he's on duty. You get the feeling that they are two entirely different kinds of captain's from this, which sums up the episode aptly. End of episode.

This episode was good for the series, because we learned a bit more about what it is to be a boomer, and what boomers think of people who leave their ranks for fancy NX Class ships. There is also a hint of independence and almost rebellion from Travis Mayweather (that shows up more strongly in the Enterprise relaunch books). There was also the issue of boomer crews looking at the potential end of their lifestyle due to an engine that does warp five (as opposed to 1.8 of the Class Y Fortunate Son, or the Class J Horizon that Mayweather comes from). On the other hand, it is a very simple story that has been done a thousand times. I wasn't impressed by the Naussicans, who seem to be the favored boring stock villains. I also was unimpressed by Archer's moralizing speech with Mayweather. It made sense enough. but it came off stiff and wooden, and Mayweather gave in too easily. Still, the episode was interesting enough, and the plusses outnumbered the minuses. I'm not going to pull out the DVD specifically to watch this one, but I wouldn't skip over it if it was playing. Thumbs up.

Next Up: "Cold Front"

Star Trek Enterprise Retro-Spective "Civilization"

2010-07-16T07:55:00.000-07:00

Civilization is hardly an original story. They encounter a “Minshara” Class planet along their path with an interesting-looking pre-industrial society. This gives T’Pol a chance to remind them about the Vulcan’s non-interference policy (that will of course become the Federation’s Prime Directive), and it gives Archer and Trip a chance to remind her that Enterprise is a human starship and they’re in charge. Anyway, as they’re scanning the planet and Hoshi is learning that she is going to go down there when they pick up massive neutrino emissions that T’Pol suggests come from an antimatter reactor. Obviously someone else is down there. So Archer, T’Pol, Trip and Hoshi all submit to Phlox’s plastic surgery (two small, vertically placed sets of ridges) and put on period costumes and take a shuttlepod down.

They track the neutrino emissions to a curio shop, which is closed up for the night. Trip uses a 22nd century lock pick to break in, and they are led to another door, which is protected by an energy screen. While they’re contemplating this, they’re accosted by a (hand-sized) crossbow-wielding woman who thinks that they are part of the same group of people making secret night time deliveries that she is convinced are contributing to many unexplained illnesses. While Archer is trying to talk his way out of trouble, T’Pol stuns her with a phase pistol blast in the back. Archer doesn’t like this, but it works, and he gets the woman back to her attic, hoping to get answers from her. All he gets is the name of the guy who owns the shop. Archer comes back the next day to see the guy, Garos, who quickly realizes that Archer and Trip are from another province. Archer scans him, and says that they know he’s knows he’s an alien. Garos scans him and says the same thing. Archer tells Garos where they’re from, and Tucker says that they detected the signature from Garos’s reactor. Garos says that he’s from the Malurian system (slated to be wiped out by Nomad in the 23rd century) who led a survey mission to the planet two years ago, but decided to stay because he liked it so much. He says that he uses the antimatter reactor as a fabrication device (like a TNG replicator). Archer implies that the reactor is tied to the illnesses. Garos denies it and says that the apothecary (Riann, the pretty girl that Archer likes) is lying. Archer wants to look at the reactor, but Garos turns him away.

In Riann’s shop, Archer and T’Pol talk to her about the illness, and she explains that the illnesses start at the same time that Garos arrived. Archer orders T’Pol to take the others back up to the ship to give Phlox some samples to analyze. He wants to stay to see if he can learn more about Garos and the mysterious night deliveries. T’Pol cautions him about cultural contamination, rather snidely tells him, to enjoy the tea that Riann made, and leaves.

On the ship, Phlox remarks that Riann has done some excellent forensic work, and discovers that the water sample is contaminated with tetracyanate 622, a highly toxic synthetic compound used as an industrial lubricant.

On the planet, a glitch in the (invisible) universal translator gives Archer an excuse to kiss Riann. Then they catch someone making a night delivery. They follow him in. Eventually the man unloads a crate and conveniently leaves it in the forest. Archer moves to investigate when a ship descends from the sky and tractors the crate up and away. A man jumps out of a tree and gets in a fight with Archer, who eventually knocks him out. Then Archer sees that the guy is wearing a latex map. Archer peels the mask away to reveal a scaly face. They scrabble for the phase pistol. Archer gets to it and stuns the guy. They come back to the lab and use the guy’s equipment to deactivate the force field and go in. Looking from a control room, they see a huge cavern with other people and machinery. Archer informs T’Pol that they Malurians are mining a veridium isotope that T’Pol explains is used to manufacture explosives. Archer and Riann take a guess at deactivating the dampening field, so that Trip can beam the reactor up, but when they do it, they are locked in and the Malurian ship rises from orbit and fires some heavy weaponry at Enterprise. On the planet, Archer and Riann are arguing with Garos. Eventually they manage to get the power cut (somehow) and rush out of the room.

Trip beams the reactor up, and (on T’Pol’s orders) out into space where they detonate it to bring down the Malurian ship’s shields. Then T’Pol orders their weapons arrays destroyed. That finishes the fight. After losing a shoot-out on the planet, the Malurians leave. The Enterprise removes the mining equipment, and Archer delivers some medicine to cure the population. He tells Riann that T’Pol’s people will make sure the Malurians don’t come back. Then he steals one more kiss before moving on.

This story really has been done a thousand times in a thousand ways, and honestly, there is nothing that Enterprise does to improve it. At the same time, we get to see a Malurian before Nomad wipes them out, and we get to see T’Pol with long hair that suits her. Overall, the episode itself isn’t bad. Not great, not original, as I’ve said, and not one that I’ll feel compelled to go back to specifically. But it was also not stupid or poorly done. Not the most enthusiastic recommendation, but a rather unenthusiastic thumbs up.

Next Up: “Fortunate Son”

ANIMAL PIC OF THE WEEK July 16th 2010

2010-07-16T07:44:00.000-07:00

Isn’t this a great pic? We found it while checking one of our twitter accounts. It came in from one of the NASA twitter bots that we have. The walrus is a wonderful animal and is part of the equally wonderful chain of nature. They can be quite comical and also quite dangerous if you annoy them on a beach. Most of us will be unlikely to come across them in the wild except for those lucky folk who live near the coastal areas in Alaska. There is a film 50 First Dates that has a classic example of the zany ways a walrus can behave if they have the right handler. The film is very good but the walrus takes a star turn indeed, in front of Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore – excellent actors though they are. Our oceans and the creatures in them deserve our constant care and attention. If our oceans become polluted then we are all in trouble. There are some really good coastal preservation groups around the globe and they are worth supporting.

Take care out there and for those of you in the United States, remember to drink lots of water and be careful if you have to go outside in the very high temperatures that this great country is enduring as we write this.

Bless you.

ANIMAL PIC OF THE WEEK July 10th 2010

2010-07-10T07:50:00.000-07:00

My oh my, has it been hot in the desert south west (USA) where we are currently based. The animal family sharing it with us, is handling it ok drinking lots of water and lying around, in behind the drawn curtains with a myriad of extra fans, bowls of ice and cool water. We find that the cats in particular, seem to sense (despite air conditioning) that the weather is at a high peak outside and they love to sleep on their backs in front of their fans. They also drink in strange places especially out of the bath tap! So when we came across this week’s pic we just had to use it. This is an outstanding balancing act – we loved it. To the owners of this enterprising cat, lucky you. Its fun to have an animal with character. All animals have their quirks and their fun side but this guy is great!

If you live in rural areas and it is a hot day, we would like to suggest that you find an old bowl and put it out, full of water in a shaded area for any animals that live outside or may be passing by. Next week we are taking a little trip to an ice flow.

God bless you and stay safe. Staff Desk.

Miss Ginny's Diary July 10th 2010

2010-07-10T07:44:00.000-07:00

Meow to you out there. Well it is hot hot hot here in the desert south west of the USA. We all have our own little fans plus the air conditioning which is, as HM says, belching! In this high heat it is important to drink a lot and we have our own ice bowls and cool water bowls. HM likes to put out water bowls for outside creatures so they can take a drink or in some of the bowls, they take a swim, especially the little birds. When we were living our own place, HM likes to put on the outside sprinkler and the little birds used to fly through the water holding their wings up to get a little water on their feathers and then they would sit in the trees preening and cleaning their feathers and chirping away. I would sit and talk to them through the windows. We have been behaving a bit better although yesterday both ShooShoo and I got told off by HM for what she called being too aggressive in our play. I admit we ended up yelling at each other. It was HD’s day off and HM likes a quiet household for him. He works hard and his work has been particularly busy. Grandma Carrie (GC) is coming up another birthday – she will be about 19 years which is 171 human years. That is really old and HM says to stop playing with her tail, and to leave out aggressive play to areas of the house where she is sleeping which is mostly what she does all day. She is worrying HM because she is thin although she eats a lot and probably eats more than I do. Her teeth are good – she has lost one of her front fangs and her dark gray coat is shiny. She is always cleaning and when she had kittens about 15 years ago or so HM thinks, she apparently kept them really well and was a strict mum. We were supposed to have left the desert south west and go north to the northern prairies of Dakota but HD’s transfer is looking more like we will be going west to the state of California. HM’s not sure about this but she says it will be cooler near the coast. It all depends on HD’s bosses. I like being near the ocean. We used to live in the Pacific Islands and there were lots of fish to eat and lots of seabirds to meow at.

Here is a pic of GC to honor her. She really is a cool old lady cat and we were both walking over some stuff that HM was sorting out. Take care out there and be well and HM says God Bless you all.

Meow from me, Miss Ginny.

Poetry "Impaled"

2010-07-05T09:33:00.000-07:00

what does it feel like
to feel nothing at all

to not suffer the slings and arrows
that pierce the rest of us
like a thousand cuts
a thousand tiny pains and barbs

and the one
rare
arrow of love
upon which I am happily impaled
for you...

Kapact's Rant: Being Honest With Yourself

2010-06-30T08:01:00.000-07:00

When a person is confronted by a choice, the opportunity to do something right or wrong, is their decision based upon the chance of getting caught, or if they are thinking about taking something that is not theirs, maybe they think they 'deserve' whatever it is, or they think the owner won't miss it. It's not a rare thing, especially in these days that see all of us struggle to get by, and most might casually take something without wanting to think of that ugly 'thief' word.

Let's just imagine you are at a laundromat, and you find a cold can of soda, left unopened by a family that you've seen leave. Imagine further that this family is obviously traveling through, and will most likely not come back looking for it. Would you feel that it was acceptable to drink the soda? You aren't really stealing it, are you? They left it behind, maybe on purpose. What you are judging at this point is really the relationship, if you will, between the soda and its owner. Based just on that, you could make the case that there is no harm in taking the soda. But really, that relationship is not your concern. Not your business. It's not what you need to think about. What you need to think about and really use as the baseline for your decision is your relationship to the soda, because that's really all that counts. First and foremost, did you buy it? Did you earn it? No. And really, that should be all that it comes down to. But you can also consider that the traveling family could conceivably come back looking for their soda. What will they think? But again, that shouldn't matter. All that should matter to you is your relationship to the soda. And the simple question and simple answer. Did you buy it? Do you own it? No. That simple idea can apply to many situations. Any time you find yourself in the position of taking something that in fact isn't yours, even a snack left unclaimed in the breakroom at work, don't think about whether or not the owner might miss it, or whether or not you might get caught. Just think about whether or not you have any right to it. If you're honest with yourself (and if you're lying to yourself, you're lying to the whole world), you'll know the simple answer, and do the right thing.

Headlines From the Edge: "Obama Pushes Reset Button on First Term: "The Next Four Years Are Going to be Great ""

2010-06-30T07:59:00.000-07:00

In his latest plan to succeed at fundamentally changing the country, the President returned to the site where some say his presidency was born, the Illinois State House, where he was greeted a cheering crowd. In prepared remarks, the president acknowledged difficulty in communicating his agenda to the majority of Americans, based on historically low poll numbers. "It's obvious, from the millions of jobs saved or created, that we've been successful. But it's just as obvious that a majority of Americans, many of them in the employ of the insurance companies and the Tea Party, simply don't understand. So rather than try to explain it to more than half the country, I'm going to use the same method that has been so successful in thawing relations with the Russians. I'm hereby officially, under my absolute authority as President, pushing the reset button on this term. The gulf oil spill? Shame on the previous administration. Record deficits and unemployment? Shame on the previous administration. Starting right now," he paused to push a large plastic red button, "it's the start of Obama, First Term, 2.0. And the next four years are going to be great!"

Kate’s Cooking: FRITTATA RING & BROWN RICE AND CHICKEN SALAD

2010-06-28T07:58:00.000-07:00

FRITTATA RING & BROWN RICE AND CHICKEN SALAD

Hello there folks. Well today is high heat in the desert and I really don’t like it. As I have mentioned before in this column you have to nut it out until a better situation comes along. We are awaiting a work transfer and thought we would not have to spend another summer of high heat. So food in this weather tends to be fast and furious and cooked mostly in the early mornings and wherever possible cooked and made ready for easy reheating later on. The microwave gets a good workout. So today’s cooking involves the microwave.

“Simple Cooking Section.”

Today’s recipe with eggs is a really simple meatless frittata ring, done in the microwave. Its base is eggs and it is cooked in a microwave ring pan. Here are the ingredients:

4 to 5 eggs – beaten with ¼ cup milk and add a little black pepper or fajita seasoning

½ packet frozen spinach – cooked with a little margarine or butter, for a few minutes

3 medium potatoes – baked and diced

2 medium carrots – grated
½ cup parsley – chopped
Cream cheese – little bits

Using the ring pan (which has been greased) put the ingredients in the pan, in the following order: spinach, parsley on top of spinach, diced potatoes, grated carrot, milk & egg mix and lastly, dot with the small pieces of cheese. Cook in the microwave for about 8 to 10 minutes until set. This should serve 2 to 4 people depending on the size of the servings. It is nice with a green salad.

Don’t be afraid to try this if you are learning to cook. It is really easy to do. If you are trying it for the first time, let me know what you think. Experiment with the seasonings and cheese.

Brown Rice & Chicken Salad

This is a very simple recipe that came out of a need to make something in a hurry. I have taken to using brown rice quite a lot lately. I still use white rice for this and that, but I do feel that brown rice is better for you. It takes longer to cook but is worth it in the end, for its goodness and vitamins and nutty flavour.

Into a microwave proof bowl put the following: 1 to 1 ½ cups brown rice, 6 drumsticks, 3 to 6 cloves garlic cut in half (this is optional), 1 cup parsley (chopped), 1 tablespoon margarine or butter. Cover with broth (or seasoned water) and cook until rice and drumsticks are soft and the chicken is no longer pink – about 40 minutes. Remove drumsticks and take meat off. Put chicken meat back into the rice mix and cook for a further 5 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Add 2 tablespoons nonfat ranch dressing and chill for several hours. This is delicious and is nice served on a bed of shredded lettuce (of choice).

SOMETHING TO NOTE:

If you have bread that is looking a little dismal then here are a couple of things to do with it. Roll out the slices with a rolling pin and cut into 4 squares. Cook in the microwave until crisp. Watch them carefully so that they don’t burn. They make excellent instant crackers and are great with a little garlic butter spread on them to serve as a side dish to a salad. Dismal bread also makes great breadcrumbs – without rolling them out just put the bread into the microwave and cook until crisp and then put the crisped bread back into the bread bag and roll it out with the rolling pin and put the crumbs into an airtight container and use them for a topping or they are excellent to thicken meat dishes if you don’t want to do the flour and water thing.

Well that’s it for this week. The column is slightly late – I don’t have any excuses except that it is too hot to think. Take care and go carefully out there.

Cheers, Kate

Headlines From the Edge: Man Wastes Day Off, Doesn't Care

2010-06-25T07:50:00.000-07:00

Fred Boyington of Dander, Illinois found himself with a paid day off from his job at the library due to a scheduling error, and rather than use the time to work on his car or a new guitar riff that had been frustrating him for the last week, he chose instead to sleep until ten am and then watch several hours of cartoons. "Sure, I could change the alternator in my car, but what's the point? It's just a car. And the riff will be there tomorrow. I wake up to it every day. How often to you get a chance to watch cartoons and get paid for it?"

Fantasy Trek Summary of Events Stardate 0610.24

2010-06-25T07:41:00.000-07:00

Quick Start Play:

If you'd like to be able to jump right in to see if you like this game, you might want to try a few rounds of Simple Combat. The Simple Combat Game is a way for you to quickly resolve combat between vessels, or fleets of vessels. This is useful if you are playing a scenario or campaign that involves more than a few ships. Otherwise a simple scenario could take weeks to play through.

It is useful to keep a copy of the Simple Combat Template. This makes it possible to copy and paste the basics of your bit of 'paperwork', add however many ships you may need to, and change or insert ship names. Here is a very basic template (there are more in the files):

IKS rolls: o/d

USS rolls: o/d

Result:

IKS damage /15

USS damage /15

The first section is for points rolled (1d6 result times the appropriate multiplier), and how the points are allocated (offense/defense). The second "Result" section shows the calculated damage. In the case of basic AI ships, the damage potential is 15.. so you would indicate 5 points damage with 5/15. Pretty simple.

If you are playing a single player game, roll a 1d6 to see who 'wins the toss'. If you roll a 1-3, you do. Then you roll the 1d6 for your opponent first. Allocate available points according to this multiplier chart:

2 (DS) Defense Sat/(FR)Freighter X1

3 (FF) Frigate X4

4 (DD) DestroyerX6

5 (CL) Light Cruiser X8

6 (CA) Heavy Cruiser X10

7 (CC) Command Cruiser X12

8 (BCH) Heavy Battlecruiser X15

9 (DN) Dreadnought X20

10 (BB) Battleship X22

11 (CV)Carrier X25

12 (STB ) Starbase/ (BS)Base Station X50/75 (reroll, 50/50)

Here is an example of simple combat between the Klingon heavy cruiser Perseus and the Sha'kurian heavy cruiser Count: In this case, I won the toss, playing as the Perseus. That meant that I had to roll and allocate for the Sha'kurian first. (The point of all this 'coin tossing' is to add randomness to the gameplay in the single player game. It puts the luxury of being able to react to your opponent's first move on a totally random footing. And of course, whoever rolled second first time rolls first the next. Compare it to the coin toss to determine who receives the kickoff in a football game ) That first roll was a 6 (on a 1d6), for 60 points. Acting for the Shakurian, I decided to play it safe, putting it all on defense. As it turned out, the caution was unnecesary. The Klingon only rolled a 1.

IKS Perseus rolls:10 0o/10d

SRS Count rolls:60 0o/60d

Result:

IKS Perseus damage 0/25

SRS Count damage 0/15

For the next volley, the Klingon ship took its turn rolling first. It rolled a "3", for 30 points, and put them all on defense. It didn't save him because the Count rolled a 6.

IKS Perseus rolls:30 0o/30d

SRS Count rolls:60 60o/d

Result:

IKS Perseus destroyed

SRS Count damage 0/15

You'll note that the Perseus is able to take 25 points of damage. That is

because all of my play has given me a "Elite" rating. The increased available points is one of the benefits of that. For details, see "Experience Points: How to Get Them and What They Get You". If you want to take it a step further, you can capture ships using Simple Combat. You have to cause 10 points of damage to lower the enemy shields, then transport over. Ah, but to so that you have to lower your own shields. Do that by giving yourself (just for the 'transport' volley) 10 points damage. A bit tricky, with careful timing involved, but a great tactic. And of course, as new races are added to Fantasy Trek, there will be a few

necessary variations to these rules (i.e. Tholian Webs).

So what to do with all of this? As I said, the Simple Combat Game is ideal for extended scenarios involving many ships in combat.

Games in Play:

"DusaQ VeS"

As I map out the rest of the game (there are a total of 25 chapters), I am playing Chapter Eight. I am currently sweeping through a captured Sha'kurian starbase for intelligence and resistance. Here is the Summary:

Summary 8: "Secrets"

Finally in command of the Sha'kurian starbase, it is discovered that the station's internal sensors have been deliberately sabotaged. While engineering teams are attempting to repair the wide-spread damage, you are given responsibility for sweeping through the station to locate and capture any enemies who may be in hiding, as well as recovering intelligence not located within the main computer.

Throughout the station, you will encounter sporadic resistance. Despite the capture orders, you are free to eliminate all but one or two members of each group. One group will be guarding an unidentified important third enemy. That enemy must be recovered without injury.

Objectives:

Each of the five habitable levels contain five areas that must be investigated and cleared.

Investigate levels 1a through 1e

2a through 2e

3a through 3e

4a through 4e

5a through 5e

You have twenty warriors, with ten more immediate reserve. For each area, roll 2d6 for size of party encountered. In addition, roll 1d6 for presence of unidentified party.

"Fifty Points"

Turns 52 through 59

There has been more activity in Fifty Points in the last week or two than in the previous six months, thanks to the Tholians. So far the Tholians have been unable to hurt the major powers, but soon they'll begin to encroach upon unclaimed territory, and the powers will have to move to counter them. Here are the turn logs:

Turn 52)

0610.10

Federation: Turn 1/15 Tholian attack? No contact. FSY1 begins construct FCA3 2/2 contact? No contact. FF1 (FDN USS Tiberius FCA USS Independence FCA USS Archer FDD USS Entebbe) on station at Planet Blue17(v,10). FCA2 launched as USS Stewart. FDD USS Gallipoli on station. Completes analysis of civilian yacht, on course for FF1 (z,10).

Kingons: Turn 1/15 Tholian attack? No contact. KSY1 begins construct KCA3. KBF (KCVC IKS Ab'Qaff KCA IKS 'etlh KCA IKS Krenn KDD IKS Levek KCA IKS Chang KCA IKS Kolikos) on station Planet Red 16 (t,18) Bombardment waiting period 5/5.

Romulans: Turn 1/15 Tholian attack? No contact. RIF1 (Romulan First Imperial Fleet) on station at Planet Green 5. (af,12) RSY1 RCS1 on station. Duranium refinery complete. RFr begins mining system for raw duranium turn 3/5 (af,14)

Turn 53)

0610.10

Federation: Turn 2/15 Tholian attack? No contact. FSY1 idle. FF1 (FDN USS Tiberius FCA USS Independence FCA USS Stewart FCA USS Archer FDD USS Entebbe FCA USS Kukulkan) on station at Planet Blue17(v,10). FDD USS Gallipoli on station. Completes analysis of civilian yacht, on course for FF1 (y,10).

Kingons: Turn 2/15 Tholian attack? No contact. KSY1 begins construct KCA3 turn 1/3. KBF (KCVC IKS Ab'Qaff KCA IKS 'etlh KCA IKS Krenn KDD IKS Levek KCA IKS Chang KCA IKS Kolikos) on station Planet Red 16 (t,18) KCVC IKS Ab'Qaff lands troops, occupies Planet Red 16.

Romulans: Turn 2/15 Tholian attack? No contact. RIF1 (FDN RIS Valedore FCA RIS D'Shoanna FCA RIS Decius FCA RIS Imperium FDD RIS Shrike FDD RIS Talon) on station at Planet Green 5. (af,12) RSY1 RCS1 on station. Duranium refinery complete. RFr begins mining system for raw duranium turn 4/5 (af,14)

Turn 54)

0610.10

Federation: Turn 3/15 Tholian attack? No contact. FSY1 idle. FF1 (FDN USS Tiberius FCA USS Independence FCA USS Stewart FCA USS Archer FDD USS Entebbe FCA USS Kukulkan) on station at Planet Blue17(v,10). FDD USS Gallipoli on course for FF1 (x,10).

Kingons: Turn 3/15 Tholian attack? No contact. KSY1 begins construct KCA3 turn 2/3. KBF (KCVC IKS Ab'Qaff KCA IKS 'etlh KCA IKS Krenn KDD IKS Levek KCA IKS Chang KCA IKS Kolikos) departs planet Red 16 (u,19) Planet Red 16 occupied by Klingons.

Romulans: Turn 3/15 Tholian attack? No contact. RSY1 begins construct RCA RIS1 Turn 1/3 RIF1 (RDN RIS Valedore RCA RIS D'Shoanna RCA RIS Decius RCA RIS Imperium RDD RIS Shrike RDD RIS Talon) on station at Planet Green 5. (af,12) RSY1 RCS1 on station. Duranium refinery complete. RFr begins mining system for raw duranium turn 5/5 (af,14)

Turn 55)

0610.10

Federation: Turn 4/15 Tholian attack? No contact. FSY1 idle. FF1 (FDN USS Tiberius FCA USS Independence FCA USS Stewart FCA USS Archer FDD USS Entebbe FCA USS Kukulkan) on station at Planet Blue17(v,10). FDD USS Gallipoli on course for FF1 (x,10).

Kingons: Turn 4/15 Tholian attack? No contact. KSY1 begins construct KCA3 turn 2/3. KBF (KCVC IKS Ab'Qaff KCA IKS 'etlh KCA IKS Krenn KDD IKS Levek KCA IKS Chang KCA IKS Kolikos) departs planet Red 16 (u,19) Planet Red 16 occupied by Klingons.

Romulans: Turn 4/15 Tholian attack? Contact: 5 Tholians TCA1 TCA2 TCA3 TFR1 TCL1 vs RDN RIS Valedore RCA RIS D'Shoanna RCA RIS Decius RCA RIS Imperium RDD RIS Shrike RDD RIS Talon RSY1 *won toss.TCA1 TCA2 TCA3 TFR1 TCL1 destroyed. No damage to Romulans. RSY1 begins construct RCA RIS1 Turn 2/3 RIF1 (RDN RIS Valedore RCA RIS D'Shoanna RCA RIS Decius RCA RIS Imperium RDD RIS Shrike RDD RIS Talon) on station at Planet Green 5. (af,12) RSY1 RCS1 on station. Duranium refinery complete. RFr begins mining system for raw duranium turn 5/5 (af,14)

Turn 56)

0610.10

Federation: Turn 5/15 Tholian attack? No contact. FSY1 idle. FF1 (FDN USS Tiberius FCA USS Independence FCA USS Stewart FCA USS Archer FDD USS Entebbe FCA USS Kukulkan) on station at Planet Blue17(v,10). FDD USS Gallipoli on course for FF1 (w,10).

Kingons: Turn 5/15 Tholian attack? No contact. KSY1 begins construct KCA3 turn 2/3. KBF (KCVC IKS Ab'Qaff KCA IKS 'etlh KCA IKS Krenn KDD IKS Levek KCA IKS Chang KCA IKS Kolikos) departs planet Red 16 (u,19) Planet Red 16 occupied by Klingons.

Romulans: Turn 5/15 Tholian attack? No contact. RSY1 begins construct RCA RIS1 Turn 3/3 RIF1 (RDN RIS Valedore RCA RIS D'Shoanna RCA RIS Decius RCA RIS Imperium RDD RIS Shrike RDD RIS Talon) on station at Planet Green 5. (af,12) RSY1 RCS1 on station. Refinery raw duranium turn 1/5 (af,14)

Turn 57)

0610.10

Federation: Turn 6/15 Tholian attack? Contact. 2 Tholians TCA TCC1 vs FDN USS Tiberius FCA USS Independence FCA USS Stewart FCA USS Archer FDD USS Gallipoli FDD USS Entebbe FCA USS Kukulkan *lost toss. TCA TCC1 destroyed. No damage to Feds. FSY1 idle. FF1 (FDN USS Tiberius FCA USS Independence FCA USS Stewart FCA USS Archer FDD USS Gallipoli FDD USS Entebbe FCA USS Kukulkan) on station at Planet Blue17(v,10).

Kingons: Turn 6/15 Tholian attack? No contact. KSY1 begins construct KCA3 turn 2/3. KBF (KCVC IKS Ab'Qaff KCA IKS 'etlh KCA IKS Krenn KDD IKS Levek KCA IKS Chang KCA IKS Kolikos) departs planet Red 16 (u,19) Planet Red 16 occupied by Klingons.

Romulans: Turn 6/15 Tholian attack? No contact. RSY1 begins construct RCA RIS1 Turn 3/3 RIF1 (RDN RIS Valedore RCA RIS Stask RCA RIS D'Shoanna RCA RIS Decius RCA RIS Imperium RDD RIS Shrike RDD RIS Talon) on station at Planet Green 5. (af,12) RSY1 RCS1 on station. Refinery raw duranium turn 2/5 (af,14)

Turn 58)

0610.10

Federation: Turn 7/15 Tholian attack? Contact. 3 Tholian TCV vs FDN USS Tiberius FCA USS Independence FCA USS Stewart FCA USS Archer FDD USS Gallipoli FDD USS Entebbe FCA USS Kukulkan *won toss. 3 Tholian TCV destroyed. No damage to Feds. FSY1 idle. FF1 (FDN USS Tiberius FCA USS Independence FCA USS Stewart FCA USS Archer FDD USS Gallipoli FDD USS Entebbe FCA USS Kukulkan) on station at Planet Blue17(v,10).

Kingons: Turn 7/15 Tholian attack? No contact. KSY1 begins construct KCA3 turn 3/3. KBF (KCVC IKS Ab'Qaff KCA IKS 'etlh KCA IKS Krenn KDD IKS Levek KCA IKS Chang KCA IKS Kolikos) on station at Planet Red 16 (t,18) occupied by Klingons.

Romulans: Turn 7/15 Tholian attack? Contact. TBCH. RDN RIS Valedore RCA RIS Stask RCA RIS D'Shoanna RCA RIS Decius RCA RIS Imperium RDD RIS Shrike RDD RIS Talon vs TBCH. TBCH destroyed. No damage to Romulans. RSY1 idle (RDN RIS Valedore RCA RIS Honor Sword RCA RIS Stask RCA RIS D'Shoanna RCA RIS Decius RCA RIS Imperium RDD RIS Shrike RDD RIS Talon) on station at Planet Green 5. (af,12) RSY1 RCS1 on station. Refinery raw duranium turn 3/5 (af,14)

Turn 59)

0610.11

Federation: Turn 8/15 Tholian attack? Contact. 3 Tholian TCL TCC TDN vs FDN USS Tiberius FCA USS Independence FCA USS Stewart FCA USS Archer FDD USS Gallipoli FDD USS Entebbe FCA USS Kukulkan *won toss. TCL TCC TDN destroyed. No damage to Feds. FSY1 idle. FF1 (FDN USS Tiberius FCA USS Independence FCA USS Stewart FCA USS Archer FDD USS Gallipoli FDD USS Entebbe FCA USS Kukulkan) on station at Planet Blue17(v,10).

Kingons: Turn 8/15 Tholian attack? Contact 3 Tholian CV BCH DN *lost toss. TCV TBCH TDN destroyed. No damage to Klingons KSY1 begins construct KCA4 turn 1/3. KBF (KCVC IKS Ab'Qaff KCA IKS 'etlh KCA IKS Krenn KDD IKS Levek KCA IKS Chang KCA IKS Kolikos KCA IKS Mazeppa) on station at Planet Red 16 (t,18) Planet Red 16 occupied by Klingons.

Romulans: Turn 8/15 Tholian attack? Contact. 1 Tholian CL. RDN RIS Valedore RCA RIS Stask RCA RIS D'Shoanna RCA RIS Decius RCA RIS Imperium RDD RIS Shrike RDD RIS Talon vs TBCH. TBCH destroyed. No damage to Romulans. RSY1 idle (RDN RIS Valedore RCA RIS Honor Sword RCA RIS Stask RCA RIS D'Shoanna RCA RIS Decius RCA RIS Imperium RDD RIS Shrike RDD RIS Talon) on station at Planet Green 5. (af,12) RSY1 RCS1 on station. Refinery raw duranium turn 4/5 (af,14)

Head to Head Sector Assault

Turns 7 through 12

Very little actual activity in these turns. It's been all about building up fleets. The Federation fortress in System 5's asteroid belt has been untouched, while the Klingons easily defeated every random assault. Here are the admittedly uninspiring turn logs:

Turn 7)

(0610.08)

System 1 (nebula):KF2 (KCA IKS LoS KCA IKS TlhuHu KCA IKS QaHom KCA IKS QultuH) on station KSY1 construct KCA IKS ej'wo turn 1/3: contact? Contact 3 FCA's *won toss. KCA IKS LoS KCA IKS TlhuHu KCA IKS QaHom KSY1 vs FCA USS Juno FCA USS Omaha FCA USS Utah. FCA USS Juno FCA USS Omaha FCA USS Utah destroyed. Klingons undamaged.

System 5 (asteroid field/heavy): FF2 (FCA USS Washington FCA USS Jefferson FCA USS Independence FCA USS Montgomery) on station. FSY1 construct FCA USS Norfolk turn 1/3 contact? Contact: 1 KCA. FCA USS Washington FCA USS Jefferson FCA USS Independence FCA USS Montgomery vs KCA IKS Wejpu. KCA IKS Wejpu destroyed. No damage to Feds.

Turn 8)

(0610.08)

System 1 (nebula):KF2 (KCA IKS LoS KCA IKS TlhuHu KCA IKS QaHom KCA IKS QultuH) on station KSY1 construct KCA IKS ej'wo turn 2/3: contact? No contact.

System 5 (asteroid field/heavy): FF2 (FCA USS Washington FCA USS Jefferson FCA USS Independence FCA USS Montgomery) on station. FSY1 construct FCA USS Norfolk turn 2/3 contact? No contact

Turn 9)

(0610.08)

System 1 (nebula):KF2 (KCA IKS LoS KCA IKS TlhuHu KCA IKS QaHom KCA IKS QultuH) on station KSY1 construct KCA IKS ej'wo turn 3/3: contact? Contact: 6 FCA's. *won toss KCA IKS LoS KCA IKS TlhuHu KCA IKS QaHom KCA IKS QultuH KSY1 vs FCA USS America FCA USS Midway FCA USS Yamoto FCA USS Caprica FCA USS Israel FCA USS Crawford FCA USS America FCA USS Midway FCA USS Yamoto FCA USS Caprica FCA USS Israel FCA USS Crawford destroyed. KCA IKS LoS damage: 32/35 All other Klingons undamaged.

System 5 (asteroid field/heavy): FF2 (FCA USS Washington FCA USS Jefferson FCA USS Independence FCA USS Montgomery) on station. FSY1 construct FCA USS Norfolk turn 3/3 contact? Contact: 1 KCA. FCA USS Washington FCA USS Jefferson FCA USS Independence FCA USS Montgomery FSY1 vs KCA IKS Los Sad. KCA IKS Los Sad destroyed. No damage to Feds

Turn 10)

(0610.12)

System 1 (nebula):KF2 (KCA IKS LoS damage: 32/35 repair turn 1/2 KCA IKS TlhuHu KCA IKS QaHom KCA IKS QultuH KCA IKS ej'wo) on station KSY1 construct KCA IKS ToQ turn 1/3: contact? Contact:2 FCA's *won toss KCA IKS LoS damage: 32/35 repair turn 1/2 KCA IKS TlhuHu KCA IKS QaHom KCA IKS QultuH KCA IKS ej'wo vs FCA USS Baskerville FCA USS Elsinore. FCA USS Baskerville FCA USS Elsinore destroyed. Klingons undamaged.

System 5 (asteroid field/heavy): FF2 (FCA USS Washington FCA USS Jefferson FCA USS Independence FCA USS Montgomery FCA USS Norfolk) on station. FSY1 construct FCA USS John Quincy Adams turn 1/3 contact?

Turn 11)

(0610.12)

System 1 (nebula):KF2 (KCA IKS LoS damage: 32/35 repair turn 2/2 KCA IKS TlhuHu KCA IKS QaHom KCA IKS QultuH KCA IKS ej'wo) on station KSY1 construct KCA IKS ToQ turn 2/3: contact? No contact:

System 5 (asteroid field/heavy): FF2 (FCA USS Washington FCA USS Jefferson FCA USS Independence FCA USS Montgomery FCA USS Norfolk) on station. FSY1 construct FCA USS John Quincy Adams turn 2/3 contact? Contact: 3 KCA's FF2 (FCA USS Washington FCA USS Jefferson FCA USS Independence FCA USS Montgomery FCA USS Norfolk vs KCA IKS Bekk KCA IKS DuSQu KCA IKS ReQ. KCA IKS Bekk KCA IKS DuSQu KCA IKS ReQ destroyed. Feds undamaged.

Turn 12)

(0610.12)

System 1 (nebula):KF2 (KCA IKS LoS KCA IKS TlhuHu KCA IKS QaHom KCA IKS QultuH KCA IKS ej'wo) on station KSY1 construct KCA IKS ToQ turn 3/3: contact? Contact: 3 FCA's *won toss KCA IKS LoS KCA IKS TlhuHu KCA IKS QaHom KCA IKS QultuH KCA IKS ej'wo KSY1 vs FCA USS Bomay FCA USS London FCA USS Paris. FCA USS Bomay FCA USS London FCA USS Paris. destroyed. Klingons undamaged.

System 5 (asteroid field/heavy): FF2 (FCA USS Washington FCA USS Jefferson FCA USS Independence FCA USS Montgomery FCA USS Norfolk) on station. FSY1 construct FCA USS John Quincy Adams turn 3/3 contact? No contact.

What Are Your Orders, Captain?

"Drift" (ENT Era) Solution

Responding to a distress signal, Captain Erika Hernandez of the Columbia NX-02 discovers a planet near the edge of known Romulan space that presents a unique dilemma. The planet, designated Alpha Galorus IV, is part of a region of space that drifts into Romulan territory due to the unique nature of galactic drift in the sector and the imprecise mapping of the just-settled treaty boundary. Based on projections, the planet (which is home to a vital sensor outpost staffed by more than a hundred scientists) will begin its journey through the neutral zone in less than a day. At that point, there will be no way to retrieve the scientists or the vital sensor data without violating the hard-fought treaty. While it is a simple matter to upload the sensor data, it is doubtful that the limited transport facilities of Columbia could bring up all of the scientists in the short time remaining.

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

Captain Hernandez scans along the projected course of Alpha Gallorus IV and detects no ships. So she begins to retrieve the scientists using Columbia's four shuttlepods, as well as pushing the ship's transporter device to capacity. While she is unable to rescue all of the scientists before crossing into the neutral zone, they are able to complete the operation without Romulan interference.

"Parallel Effect" (TMP Era)

While enroute to an ion storm near the Sol System, Captain Morgan Bateson of the USS Bozeman encounters a ship, named UFS Challenger, that claims to have launched from Earth in the year 2152. According to Challenger's captain, they were on a mission to colonize a habitable planet in the 40 Eridanii A system when they suffered an attack by unidentified forces and become lost. They only request assistance in being set back on the proper heading, as the population on Earth is desperate for the mission to succeed. Checking all relevant archives, Captain Batesmon finds no record of any such ship launching from Earth. However, scans of Challenger and her crew reveal that they are exactly they claim to be. Captain Bateson concludes that they must come from some parallel universe, but can determine no way of returning them. He also knows that the fragile Challenger would never survive the approaching ion storm. While he has no desire to interfere with Challenger's mission, he cannot find a way to return them, nor does he know what to do with them in his universe.

What Are Your Orders, Captain?

Post your solution in the YahooGroup or through the blogsite's 'comment' feature.

"Captain's Log"

"... the benefit of hindsight..."

ENT Era

Captain Erika Hernandez

Columbia NX-02

As I look back at the events surrounding the evacuation of Alpha Gallorus IV, I actually find myself wondering what future starship commanders might think of what transpired here. This log has been encrypted and sealed, but they always eventually see the light of day. Even Zephram Cochrane's wild early memoirs have been unsealed. So once the truth comes out about Alpha Gallorus IV, will future generations, with the benefit of hindsight, paint me as a success, a failure or a minor footnote? I know that I'll eventually be judged not by my intentions but by my results. I can only say what I've done and why, and hope for the best.

There was no way I could get every scientist off of the planet before we crossed the treaty boundary, even using all four shuttlepods and overtaxing the transporter, so we worked as fast as we could and hoped we didn't get caught. We got lucky. That's what I thought as we crossed out of the neutral zone, until a Romulan Atomic Missile Cruiser appeared from out of nowhere, did a hard scan of the planet, then blanketed it with its full load of warheads. Even from a distance our scans showed that the atmosphere had been burned away, and the planet rendered uninhabitable.

So what can I say about that? We got every scientist off of the planet. For that, I justify crossing the border. We preserved vital scientific and intelligence data of unimaginable value to the Federation. For that, again, I justify crossing the border. But what of the thriving native ecosystem of Alpha Gallorus IV that has been wiped out as a result of a political disagreement? What of the open wound between the Federation and the Romulan Star Empire, over not just Gallorus IV, but the desperation-imposed treaty? Since there has yet to be a renewed flood of birds of prey across the border, I assume and hope that the cruiser Commander chose to keep the incident secret. Do even Romulans get sick of war? I certainly hope so. In the meantime, we seem to have a peace of sorts. Even at the cost of millions of people on both sides, and the innocent, unaware life on Alpha Gallorus IV.

For next week. write a 100+ word log entry including the phrase "... more than a question of style...". Post it in the yahoo group or on the blogsite's "comment" feature for a Command College Point.

Dev Notes:

This is the second writing of this. The T-650 has demonstrated why you don't turn your back on it as two hours' work vanished in a puff of cyber-dust. The Tholian threat seems to have breathed a bit of life back into Fifty Points. We'll see how it maintains interest moving forward. The Head to Head Sector Assault has reached the upper limit on complexity/playability, but it is also heading for a massive head-knocking party somewhere in the middle of the board that will probably cost enough ships on one side to shape the conclusion.

I'm also looking at a slightly less complicated 3-way fight on an Excel Worksheet, with twelve bases to be used for refueling or repair and heavy cruisers for all, with the tentative and imaginative title "Medium Assault". I haven't ironed out the rules, but I'm thinking that on one hand, as you arrive at a base you repair your ship, and claim that base as a respawn point, much like other games. Also, for every three bases you reach, you gain another ship. The game would obviously start with an initial dash to swallow up territory and overwhelm the other powers. The bases would have no offensive capabilities, nor would they be targetable. However, to flip a base (take it from someone else, you have to survive sitting on it for three turns. And of course you'll have to think about guarding them) That's still tentative. I'll play it through soon. The purpose is to have another simple, easy and quick-to-play challenge.

I have every mission of DusaQ VeS basically mapped out, and I'm playing through chapter eight at the same time. That really needs to move, one chapter a week.

The July calendar image is essentially ready to go. It's a submission from Mrs Kapact, most likely the most atypical Blalock Class Fast (Penetration) Cruiser. Forget the whole idea of a saucer and two nacelles. I'm also doing some mental planning for possibly an Enterprise Era Klingon dreadnought.

Space Terrain is turning out to be a viable aspect, and it certainly belongs. Frustrating at times, but it definitely adds a challenge. Here are those space terrain rules so far, repeated just in case you're curious and/or forgot from last time.

The rules are for asteroid fields, nebula, black hole accretion disc. I only have rules for heavy cruisers now, but that'll change. Here are the rules so far:

Asteroid field

-heavy

--to hit: roll 6

--accident rate

volley 1 roll of 6 roll for damage

volley 2 roll of 5-6 roll for damage

volley 3 roll of 4-6 roll for damage

volley 4 roll of 3-6 roll for damage

volley 5 roll of 2-6 roll for damage

volley 6 roll for damage

-medium

--to hit: roll 5-6

--accident rate

volley 4 roll of 6 roll for damage

volley 5 roll of 5-6 roll for damage

volley 6 roll of 4-6 roll for damage

volley 7 roll of 3-6 roll for damage

volley 8 roll of 2-6 roll for damage

volley 9 roll for damage

-light

--to hit: roll 2-6

--accident rate

volley 6 roll of 6 roll for damage

volley 7 roll of 5-6 roll for damage

volley 8 roll of 4-6 roll for damage

volley 9 roll of 3-6 roll for damage

volley 10 roll of 2-6 roll for damage

volley 11 roll for damage

Nebula

temp 20% damage to simulate loss of shields

need 3-6 to hit

Black Hole Accretion Disc

need 3-6 to hit

--accident rate

volley 4 roll of 6 roll for damage

volley 5 roll of 5-6 roll for damage

volley 6 roll of 4-6 roll for damage

volley 7 roll of 3-6 roll for damage

volley 8 roll of 2-6 roll for damage

volley 9 roll for damage

volley 10 roll 1-3 to escape black hole.

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Chatter With Kate A COUPLE OF BOUQUETS TO HAND OUT AND A REMINDER TO BE CIVIL

2010-06-24T09:39:00.000-07:00

Hello folks – I hope you are having the best of weeks. Here in the desert south west the heat of summer is upon us with a vengeance. Today is the summer solstice and as I am getting too old to deal with the heat, I compensate by thinking that as of tomorrow, the days start getting shorter and we start to head back to longer nights and cooler days but before then we have to go through some crazy summer days. I shouldn’t be groaning because my one aunt, an elderly farmer from northern Indiana is going through heck and fire and brimstone. There have been some terrible storms, tornadoes just lately in the Midwest and the northern plains. We spoke to her this morning and at 85 years of age and having weathered a couple of strokes and a heart op. she said she was just fine. She was sitting in her dining room listening to the heavy raindrops outside. I said ‘how are your cows and she said they were fine to’. She has been farming for about 61 years now and though she is by herself these days with uncle having passed away, she toughs it out. Her generation doesn’t give up easily. So this little piece of writing is a bouquet to my aunt and her generation who fought and died for us in the last global conflict so that we can live a free life and it is up to us not to mess it up.
Another bouquet to, for those terrific folk at the Weather Channel and also those of the National Weather Service who are all so on-the-ball with their up to the minute information on what is happening with the weather especially when things are bad. I have been with my aunt when the alarms have come on the television telling us where the storms are, how close they are and what to do. I truly admire what they do and I am very grateful. To Jim Cantore, Dr Greg Forbes (severe weather expert) and all their colleagues, long may you continue and once again, you have the grateful thanks of a niece whose aunt is a special lady.

Finally on a completely different subject – civility seems to have gone out the window these days. I hear so much bad language from all ages. I just don’t know what has happened. I know things are stressful. The economic climate is really difficult for many folk; Lord knows our family has struggled along with the rest of the good folk out there. We have been through the dramas surrounding the loss of jobs and trying to balance the budget and pay bills. Despite all the dramas, loss of civility is sad, really sad. I look at folk lined up at the various government agencies who are trying to help folk in all of this and there are tempers, foul language and kids in the middle of it all. What examples are they being set? – the kids that is. None! Take a deep breath folks, count to 10 backwards and nut it out. Keep a favorite book with you if you have to go out into one of these long lines in which you might be standing. You can have a little read while waiting. Think to, of the folk behind the counter who are trying to help you – it’s not easy for them either. Beaurocracy is nuts – the beaurocratic godfathers make rules and regulations that these poor folk behind the counters have to dish out. However, it’s what we have and until the system is changed and we get even more computer-styled machines and we end up doing everything from home, we just have to put our best foot forward and remember civility. Be nice!

Cheers, Kate

ANIMAL PIC OF THE WEEK June 24th 2010

2010-06-24T09:15:00.000-07:00

Hello there, how’s your week going? When you write up a column such as this one, you have at your fingertips what are seemingly a trillion photos to go through. They are wonderful to look through. Today we have selected one for all the young folk around the globe who love kittens. This photo came through from Russia and we all thought it was truly lovely. A little kitten around a house can be a wonderful stress release. The more you handle a little kitten, give it pats and cuddles, the better (older) cat you will have. They have a lot of love and friendship to give and who needs a valium when you can go to a shelter and pick up a grateful animal who would love a loving home. They are so faithful and wait for you to come home when you go out and on a stormy night you will nearly always find them tucked up in your bed getting comfort from you and giving comfort to you. A plea here to support any animal shelter in your area. If your budget allows, drop of a can or two of cat foods to those good folk who are helping rescue animals. A nice little story here - we know of a lady on a farm who has barn cats that have appeared from somewhere and she puts out some food for them and they live amongst the hay in her barn. They are speyed and neutered and they sure do keep her barn and farm buildings free of mice. They follow her around the farm and they all seem to have worked out a wonderful living arrangement.

So here is our cutie for the week.

Go carefully out there folks. Bless you from the Staff Desk.

Poetry -Haiku- "Spark of God"

2010-06-23T07:31:00.000-07:00

feel the spark of God
compelled to push up to light
breath of the divine

Star Trek Enterprise Retro-Spective "Breaking the Ice"

2010-06-23T07:16:00.000-07:00

Breaking the Ice is a fun episode, one that I enjoyed when it first aired and again the second time around.
It is another fairly simple episode. The crew are looking at some drawings from Trip's nephew's fourth-grade class when Enterprise comes upon a comet that isn't on the Vulcan starcharts. Archer is intrigued while T'Pol is, as usual, unimpressed. There is a brief interlude in the mess hall. T'Pol is tired, not sleeping, and Trip talks to her essentially about the virtues of comfort food. He explains that he's had a long day and missed dinner. Then someone told him that Chef made pecan pie, which has been his favorite since he was a kid. That brightened his life and made him feel better. She looks down on it as being mostly sugar. She goes to bed.

In the next scene, they discover that the comet contains large amounts Eisilium, a rare mineral. That means that T'Pol is now interested. They need to get a drilling rig down to the surface, so Reed and Mayweather suit up and off they go in a shuttlepod. Soon afterward, a Vulcan starship shows up, gives Archer a hard time, and seems to just want to watch them. Archer bristles under the surveillance while T'Pol appears to make excuses for them. While this goes on, Travis and Reed head down to the comet.

In the meantime, Hoshi picks up an encrypted transmission sent from the Vulcan ship to T'Pol's quarters. Concerned that they're being spied on, Archer orders Hoshi to decrypt it.

While this goes on, the crew uses a new comm relay system to answer questions from the fourth-grade class. There are a few interesting questions, then we get to the funny bit where Trip has to explain how they recycle waste products to help make their food. Very funny.

On the comet, Reed and Mayweather have taken time out to make a snowman before they set the charges to excavate the comet. More to come on that...

Hoshi decrypts the message and gives it to Trip, who has to put it through a translator. Turns out that it was a very personal letter. He admits it to T'Pol, who is not amused. Fortunately, she lets it go.

In the meantime, Archer decides to invite the snooping Vulcan captain, Vanik, to dinner, with the goal of getting him to leave.

Meanwhile, the snowman has gained a huge set of Vulcan ears. Very funny. Worth remembering unquestionably. Not necessarily nice, but definitely funny. Then they blow the charges.

After that, it really gets funny. Archer has Vanik over for dinner. Archer does his best to annoy Vanik while Vanik sits as still as a statue. He doesn't eat, he doesn't drink. He just sits there being rude. Among great lines in the conversation is Archer saying that "it's nice to know that no matter how big the universe is, there'ws always a Vulcan ship nearby." Again, very funny. The conversation struggles on for a while longer, until Vanik caps it off by saying "Humans have never held much interest for me." Archer then accuses him of spying, Vanik says something snooty, and the love-fest is over.

Shortly thereafter, they discover that they set off the charges on the comet, they shifted the its rotational axis, and in two hours, the spot where the shuttlepod landed will be directly facing a nearby star, and the ice will melt.

T'Pol has decided that she needs to talk to someone about the letter, and since Trip already knows, she talks to him. Seems that she has a prearranged marriage to a guy named Koss. She has been postponing the wedding while she's on Enterprise, but Koss's parents are insulted that she's put it off to serve on a human vessel. She doesn't want to go, and seems to be looking for a way out. Tucker insists that arranged marriages went out with slavery, she defends this custom that she doesn't like, and it isn't resolved.

On the comet, they are prepping to leave when Mayweather gets hurt. They grab a core sample and make it back to the shuttlepod as the comet starts to crack apart under them. As they start to lift off, the shuttlepod falls through the weakened ice. They try the grappler, which doesn't help. Vanik offers to help, using their tractor beam, but Archer doesn't want to accept the help. Finally, T'Pol reminds Archer that Vanik expects Archer to refuse due to human pride and arrogance. He agrees, and moments later, the shuttlepod is being tractored up to safety. Archer offers to share some of the data. Vanik of course refuses. At that point, T'Pol asks permission to contact the Vulcan ship. Archer agrees. The episode ends with T'Pol meditating after having finally tried the pecan pie.

There is really nothing to dislike about this episode. The only fault I can see is the continued rudeness between humans and Vulcans. There is a reason, and this is really still early in the series, and I have to admit that it does make for some funny moments. I just don't always care for it. Aside from that, the comm relay ends up making realtime communication with Earth possible, which they couldn't do a hundred years later in TOS. The Vulcan snowman is hilarious, as is the dinner with Archer and Vanik. The chemistry between Trip and T'Pol is starting to show itself, which is welcome. And of course, we see that the Vulcans had a tractor beam before humans.

And there you have it. "Breaking the Ice" is a good, solid episode, better than most Trek first season episodes. This is an episode to rewatch. It rates an enthusiastic thumbs up.

Next Up: "Civilization"

Miss Ginny's Diary June 22nd 2010

2010-06-22T09:43:00.000-07:00

Meow to you from me, Miss Ginny. Well it has been a silly week and I really don’t know why. We were scrapping a lot and I fought with my sister ShooShoo, my cat mum Lapper bopped me on the head because I went too close to her when she was sleeping and great aunt Daisy did the same thing because I surprised her by jumping up on the chair she was on – well I didn’t see her. HM doesn’t like the hissin’ and spittin’ as she calls it, so she got mad. Well today it is a little better. HM says that if we can’t behave ourselves during the week, on Sunday we just have to behave, especially on a Sunday afternoon. In our home Sunday afternoons belong to you, in other words, you can do as you wish, providing you behave and you cant tell anyone else what to do.

From time to time, I have put some pictures in of some of us. Lately, HM & HD have been renewing their passports. HM says that in Europe and England you can get passports for your pets if you are traveling with them. I had the idea to do ‘cat’ passport photos. HM said ‘oh God help us trying to get you all photographed for passports’ but when we all looked at our family pictures, we found some pretty cool photos. So here then are the passport photos for the four-legged members of the family. All of these pictures have been taken this year:

From eldest to youngest:

Carrie (aka Grandma or GC)

(born 1992)

Daisy-Mae (aka Miss Daisy, GAD=Great Aunt Daisy)

(born 2002)

Lapper (aka Cap-A-Lap – my cat mum)

(born 2004)

ShooShoo (my sister)

(born October 18, 2005)

Miss Ginny (aka Virginia-Lee)

(born October 18, 2005)

So here we all are. Naughty, loud sometimes but we are a happy family. HM & HD love us despite all our quirks (what is a quirk?) – HM says it is an idiosyncrasy belonging to a particular person. Oh heck, I don’t know these words.

Meow to you until next time, from me, Miss Ginny.

GOD-ly Talk: ABOUT PRAYER & PRAYING

2010-06-18T11:34:00.000-07:00

As a short introduction to this new column, we would like to say that it came about because of a lady we came across recently who let out some of what we felt, was a string of unpalatable words about Allah. My husband and I had gone to our residence’s swimming pool and we were chattering away as we swam around and she must have picked up on what we were saying, although our words were not loud. She passed by us and said ‘do you realize that Allah is not a God and he is the devil’ etc etc and carried on in an unpleasant tone. I turned to her and said, ‘Madam, you are entitled to your opinion but please excuse me’ and we swam away. The lady was, of course, entitled to her opinion. So in our chat about this incident later, we thought that a column based on all aspects of all religions and the history of religion and religious places could be an interesting write and read.

ABOUT PRAYER AND PRAYING

Do you ever talk to the big-G, in other words, the man upstairs as I’ve heard Christian folk call him? I find it infinitely comforting. Sometimes I fall asleep before saying my prayers and a long time ago my late mum was walking past my room one evening and she came in and said ‘who are you talking to’? I replied ‘God’ and she in turn said ‘you were a bit short on the job’. I said ‘yes, I know but I am so tired I can hardly keep my eyes open.’ What I had said was – thank you for this day, goodnight – she never forgot this and neither have I. I had just wanted to say something before dreamland overtook me and I was preserving my conscience at the time. My husband, bless him, often says his prayers on his way to work and has lengthy conversations with God about various subjects. He found the big-G a while ago and has a very comfortable relationship with the ‘man upstairs’. God is like this dude, this great friend who has been around in my life for (beyond) ever. If I say a bad word (not nasty ones but strong enough for me to feel guilty about) I apologise to the big-G by usually saying sorry God or Lord. When I hear that someone I know of be it a personality or acquaintance has left this earth and gone to infinity, then I ask God to bless them and send them on their way in a calm manner to their next life. It has always been a habit of mine that if, in the course of conversation, the name of a person who has passed on is mentioned, then after the mention of this person’s name I say God rest their soul and carry on with the conversation. There are a myriad of religions around the world that each has their own way of saying prayers and chants and have rituals surrounding those prayers. These are wonderful to learn about and observe. To pray, in your own style, is so comfortable, it’s a real boost to the inner mind and calming to. It’s positive and gives you energy to carry on with your next task. I have closed this column with a prayer I learnt many years ago when I was living in Australia and in the course of reading a magazine, came across it. For whatever reason at the time it appealed to me (it still does). Take care out there and God bless you.

In a very special way
I shall need thee Lord always
I know how full thy days will be
But everything depends on thee
But keep an eye on me I pray
Though far from thee my thoughts may stray
Whatever happens be thou there
Keep me in thy loving care
Lord I know that there is room
For everything and everyone

Pardon all that I have done

That was grievous in thy sight

Trusting in thy charity

Always Dear Lord, remember (my family,

my friends, my pets and) me.

Here is a wonderful picture of the inner roof of the Hagia Sophia mosque in Istanbul. These wonderfully decorative ceilings were built so long ago and remain in splendid condition to this day. They are a tribute to the crafts people who built them.

Poetry -Haiku- "Distant Lands"

2010-06-17T08:55:00.000-07:00

frost like that of home

hot steel slides across leather
the first of many

ANIMAL PIC OF THE WEEK June 17th 2010

2010-06-17T08:50:00.000-07:00

Greetings everyone. This weeks ‘pic’ is one that we all thought is truly blessed. Dogs can and do make the best of friends. They accept their lot in life and by and large work through it the best they can. The raising of a dog in one’s household, is no different than raising a child. The more you handle them kindly but firmly the better pet you will have and of course you will have a wonderful BFF (to put it in modern vernacular). Before you read the story below, we would like to make a plug here for all the animal shelters like the SPCA et al, who do such wonderful (and sometimes difficult) work to help those animals less fortunate than those in good homes. If you have space in your home, can you think about giving a shelter pet a home? For example, I know that the SPCA (a no kill sanctuary) in Las Vegas has around 300 Chihuahuas they would like to find homes for. Below is a story we came across about a dog looking for some peace and quiet. We don’t know who wrote it but it is just great. So we acknowledge the folk who wrote it and say to them ‘thank you for sharing it’. We are, so to speak, passing it on for everyone to enjoy – a ‘retweet’!

An older, tired-looking dog wandered into my yard. I could tell from his collar and well-fed belly that he had a home and was well taken care of. He calmly came over to me. I gave him a few pats on his head. He then followed me into my house, slowly walked down the hall, curled up in the corner and fell asleep. An hour later, he went to the door, and I let him out. The next day he was back, greeted me in my yard, walked inside and resumed his spot in the hall and again slept for about an hour. This continued off and on for several weeks. Curious I pinned a note to his collar: 'I would like to find out who the owner of this wonderful sweet dog is and ask if you are aware that almost every afternoon your dog comes to my house for a nap. The next day he arrived for his nap, with a different note pinned to his collar. 'He lives in a home with 6 children, 2 under the age of 3 - he's trying to catch up on his sleep. Can I come with him tomorrow?'

Bless you all – Staff Desk, House Abukoff

Kate’s Cooking: SIMPLE SCRAMBLED EGGS & FUN WITH TUNA

2010-06-17T08:38:00.000-07:00

SIMPLE SCRAMBLED EGGS & FUN WITH TUNA

Hello folks. Well it is a hot windy afternoon here in the desert and unfortunately, you need to close the windows against the sand and all the little bugs that tend to fly around in the summer. I came across a lady recently who said she just couldn’t stand cooking and for one who loves cooking, I found this hard to hear, though one has to respect her thoughts. I have come across several people lately who profess to not being able to cook. One said she can make a ‘sort of scrambled egg’. Well this is a place to start.

*A simple way to cook* scrambled eggs is in the microwave. In a small bowl, break 2 eggs and beat them with a fork; add some black pepper, a little milk as desired and a little butter or margarine. I like to finely chop some parsley if I have it and add that to. Cook until the egg is puffed up and not too runny in the centre. Serve with a couple of pieces of toast cut on the diagonal and placed to one side of the egg. Make yourself a mug of coffee or a cup of tea and as an extra, serve some fresh sliced fruit with it. This makes a nice meal and can be eaten at any time of the day. Eggs are a wonderful gift of nature. I think you need to be careful of how many you eat but a healthy person can generally manage to eat one a day. If you are lucky enough to get hold of fresh farm eggs or better yet, have your own hens, then you are in for a real treat.

Each week, I will give out a simple recipe for a meal with eggs and after a month, we will move on to something other food that can produce simple meals for those among you who wish to learn and get away from packet meals.

**For the next recipe we are back to tuna. It is so cheap right now in our local supermarket that it is good to have fun with it. This is what I call ‘double odds’- namely two somewhat unusual recipes both using canned tuna.

The first is potato wedges with tuna sauce.

For the potato wedges: bake 2 to 3 scrubbed potatoes (medium-small) per person. Cut into wedges ½ and then ½ again. Coat lightly with butter or margarine and put aside for reheating.

For the tuna sauce: Into a microwave bowl put the following – 1 finely chopped green onion (per person), 1 finely chopped and diced red pepper and 2 teaspoons fajita seasoning. Add to this about 2 heaped tablespoons margarine. Cook for about 5 minutes in the microwave, remove and add 2 heaped tablespoons flour and approximately 2 cups milk. Mix well and microwave for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sauce is as thick as you would like. Add a can of flaked tuna. You might like to reheat the sauce for a minute or two before you pour it over the reheated wedges.

The second ‘odd’ recipe is for fritters/tortilla wraps.

Referring to the above (wedges) recipe, when you get to the point where the flour has been added, add 1 cup of milk, a teaspoon of baking powder or baking soda, 1 beaten egg. Mix to a consistency of pancakes. This is entirely to your own taste. Fry in a non-stick pan or skillet. I make the ‘batter’ thick for fritters and quite thin (using extra milk) for a tortilla-like wrap for a roll-up filled with soft cheese or a filling of your own choice.

SOMETHING TO NOTE:

I would like to remind those of you who have computers, to get on the mailing list of http://www.rickbayless.com/ The Create Channel’s Master Chef has a wonderful website and he is also on Twitter. He is the most cheerful fellow and is full of wonderful ideas and has a great newsletter and is excellent with the questions he gets asked on Twitter. His program on the Create Channel, Mexico: One Plate At A Time is truly joyful.

Well, that’s it for this week. Take care of yourselves. Bless you.

Kate

Chatter With Kate: ATTACK ADS – I CAN'T STAND THEM

2010-06-15T22:47:00.000-07:00

Greetings folks. This column has been in hiatus for a while and after thinking about what form it should take for the future, we have decided to keep it as it is and perhaps take a wider look at a broader range of subjects. So, apart from my ‘pesky politicians’ I will take a look at current news and trends, travel (I was a travel writer for a number of years) and personal thoughts and stuff in general. Bless the person who invented the word stuff – it’s a god send. My late mum would not approve as she was very particular with her words. She was a playwright and wrote beautiful thoughts and prayers and poetry.

The subject of this column is as the heading says – the attack ad season is upon us and it’s already driving me mad. I simply can’t see the necessity for the bad language, nasty words and I would like to talk to the people who actually write them. The general subject (content) of these political ads that we are putting up with until November is getting peskier than the last time. I do want to know what a candidate is all about, what they have done in the past and what they think – in their own words – makes them the best person to represent me in Washington DC. However, I don’t want to hear ads on their behalf that quite frankly are rude, aggressive and disrespectful. I know, I am probably barking up the proverbial tree, but as I have said before, these ads show no respect, no dignity and I think they show no class. The other thing that really gets up my nose, (no apologies for this phrase), is the candidate who is always GOING TO CHANGE WASHINGTON. Give me a break please, Washington DC has been like it is (progressively getting worse as the years have gone by) since our founding fathers. They were no different than the current day politicians – in fact they could be even peskier if you read our history. Sure, the place needs some change but it isn’t going to happen quickly. 2008 is a prime example of all the promises of change not really coming to fruition. The tricks and backroom deals are still there and the pesky strategies are still going on. So, when a candidate says they are going to go to Washington DC to change things –I would say to them, please don’t be disrespectful to yourself. They are not going to take any notice of you. If you get elected then don’t expect to change things the day you get there. Quietly work out your own little strategies and study The Art of War and you just might have a chance. Finally, I would like to say this. In our area here in the desert south west, there was a candidate in a local primary for the senate, who came out with some nasty ads and you can’t expect to come out with ads as nasty as they were without people on the other side having a go at you. This candidate did not win the primary although at the start of the crazy season for this, this person was leading. People, from my research, are heartily sick of the ---p! Respect the views of the voting public, we are not stupid and we don’t forget past voting. We are looking for good capable leaders not the pesky kind!

Cheers and go safely out there, Kate

P.S. If you’ve got something to say, and would like to put it up on our blog, let us know. Please keep language civil and remember the libel stuff. Our editor reserves the right to have the final say on column content. K.

Star Trek Enterprise Retro-Spective "The Andorian Incident"

2010-06-15T07:50:00.000-07:00

I liked this episode when I first saw it, so I really wasn't in the position of anticipation of changing my mind much. The story is pretty simple. Archer finds an interesting planet in their flight path, one that appears on the Vulcan starcharts called P'Jem. It is home to an ancient monastery where Vulcans go to undergo the Kohlinahr, or purging of emotions. Archer wants to visit, but T'Pol isn't in love with the idea, because, as we discover during a chat between her and Phlox, she would be embarrassed to be seen with her human crew. Phlox steals a bit of celery from her plate and lectures her about Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations, she quietly fumes, and the episode moves on.

When they arrive on the planet, we see that the monastery has been ransacked. They meet of one the residents, who tries to get them to leave. Archer figures that something is wrong and finally spots a blue-skinned alien (he learns it's an Andorian) hiding behind something, waiting in ambush. Archer and Trip start a fight with them and end up getting locked up with the Vulcans.

It seems the Andorians don't like the Vulcans, and suspect them of using the planet as a surveillance outpost (and of course, that is exacerbated by Archer showing up with a Vulcan). They're rooting around, ransacking, and beating people up, looking for answers. Eventually, Malcolm beams down a security team, and a firefight ensues. Then we're shocked, shocked to find out that there's spying going on here. Yes, there is a massive spy outpost built underneath the ancient catacombs. Archer runs scans of the whole place hands the info over to Shran. Shran now owes Archer a favor (that we'll see repayed soon) and the Vulcans find a way to blame Archer.

This was very refreshing, following the drab "Terra Nova". I'd looked forward to seeing what was done with what were, at that point, the rather mysterious Andorians. Phlox was as interesting and fun as always, dispensing a bit of wisdom and deliberately annoying T'Pol. And of course, Jeffery Coombs. He has always been a treat since he appeared on DS9 as Weyoun, and as Shran he didn't disappoint. The dynamic that would be the relationship between Archer and Shran is obvious in this episode. Of course, many fans out in Trekdom objected to the negative portrayal of Vulcans, and it cannot be denied that the Vulcans' image suffered throughout most of this series. That's a fair gripe, but they redeem (and explain to an extent) themselves in the fourth season. "The Andorian Incident" gets a very enthusiastic thumbs up.

Next Up: "Breaking the Ice"

Miss Ginny's Diary June 13th 2010

2010-06-13T23:28:00.000-07:00

Meow to you out there from me, Miss Ginny. Well things are a little crazy here and HM says that at the moment, I am the No.1 crazy!! I don’t think so but I do like to go on a run or two. HM asked me earlier today why I do the following:

Go nuts when I finish using my toilet (dirt) box and run around the room like a whirling wind, knocking things over.

Like to creep up on my sister and bite her ears.

Leap on to HM’s shoulders from the floor when she is not expecting me to.

Get in the bathtub and howl like a coyote.

Follow her to the bathroom when she goes there to use it and if she doesn’t let me in, do I have to scratch the outside of the door!

Ask HD for a pick up and a cuddle just as he sits down to do his writing and research - well the answer to this is that he is nice and warm and has a nice big chest to rest on.

Wack my cat mother, Lapper, on the head nearly every time I pass her – well the answer to this is that she pecks at me every time she passes me. HM says that two wrongs don’t make a right – as if I understand this!!

Anyhow right now I am dictating to HM as she types for me and things are quiet and we are all waiting for HD to come home from his day job. Grandma Carrie has just come on the bed. She is getting quite frail and HM is worried about her. She eats well though and goes to the bathroom just fine. Her coat is still very shiny and she keeps herself clean. Did I tell you that she is the equivalent of 162 human years? She has kept her beautiful dark grey fur and her beautiful green eyes. She doesn’t bother me and I don’t really bother her. We both cuddle up with HM at night and share food, especially the tuna bits which we both like very much. HM doesn’t give us too much tuna – she shares it with us when she opens a can for a salad for her and HD. She and all of us are so looking forward to the day when HM can go out and fish and bring us home some nice white fish to eat. Our departure from where we are, had to be delayed. Never mind, HM says that we will go just as soon as we can. HM just looked at the clock and she says that HD will be home in about 20 minutes. I hope he brings home cat treats – he probably will. HD has a day off tomorrow so that is just cool.

HM here – Miss Ginny has fallen asleep – she is a funny little cat. I do so love having her around and she is the best of company except when she knocks everything over on one of those wild chasing runs of hers but I forgive her that too. We just pick everything up and tell her she is crazy. You know, she answers you back and is very talkative – I often think it would be great to be able to understand “cat” but perhaps it might be better if we didn’t!! What she says, we might not like to hear. She is a true BFF.

Take care out there in this big wide world of ours. Meow to you from Miss Ginny and have a nice day from me, HM.

ANIMAL PIC OF THE WEEK June 12nd 2010

2010-06-12T23:20:00.000-07:00

Hello there folks. Our animal pic of the week is a little late for which we must apologise. Our only excuse is that life in the recent high heat of the desert south west has been difficult and the air conditioning went out and it was 110 degrees and it was just nuts. An indoor pool would be lovely but we can’t do that and we are not near a river or the ocean. A swim in a river or the ocean on a hot day is wonderful and our pic of the week is an animal who just loves to swim in a lake or a river. Many years ago, I was out walking quite early in the morning and I went past the local zoo and they let me in to see the early feeding and cleaning as the folk at the zoo knew me well from my visits there. I was walking along the path that leads to the African section and I came across the keeper wheeling a large pile of cabbages which were the early morning treats for the hippopotamus. He said “here, have one and when the big male opens his mouth just throw it in”. I said “you are kidding me” and he said “absolutely not”. The two large hippos were standing there waiting. They knew what the time was and what to expect. Almost on cue, the hippos opened their mouths and away went the cabbage, over the fence and into a giant mouth, the likes of which I’d never seen. The hippos stood there until all the cabbages were gone and again, on cue, they turned around and went back into “their swimming hollow”. This somewhat unusual task on a Sunday morning will remain with me as a lifelong memory and I will always treasure it - Kate.

Star Trek Enterprise Retro-Spective "Terra Nova"

2010-06-11T09:37:00.000-07:00

This was probably the simplest story so far. Enterprise approaches the location of the lost Terra Nova colony, mankind's first attempt to colonize a planet outside of Earth's solar system. After five years, the colony was a definite success, so Earth wanted to send more. Terra Nova said no. They argued back and forth until Terra Nova cut all communications.

Seventy years later, Enterprise arrives. They find the planet bathed in low-level radiation and hostiles living underground. The hostiles injure Reed, who ends up their captive. Archer discovers that the hostiles are in fact humans. Most of them are descendents of the colonists, but one old woman was a young girl from the colony. It turns out that radiation from an asteroid impact at the same time that the colonists landed poisoned the rain and drove the colonists underground. They were convinced that Earth was responsible, trying to drive the 'Novans' off the planet. Young kids survived underground, believing that humans had wiped them out.

Archer eventually convinces them that they're dying from radiation in the ground water, and they allow Enterprise crew to move them to another continent that is unaffected by the radiation.

Everybody lives happily ever after.

So what is there to say about "Terra Nova"? Not much, in fact. It is a simple story. I liked the ship, a Discovery Class. It is a good, clean design, and I was interested that the colonists used the ship itself to build the colony. It is also interesting to think that this ship was the pinnacle of technology twenty years after Zephrame Cochrane. Aside from that, the story was good enough if unoriginal. Nothing to get excited about, just an average 'not bad' story. Little to talk about, and quite honestly not much to recommend. Not a waste of time, but I don't see myself going back to it. I'll still give it a thumbs up, but with little enthusiasm.

Next Up: "The Andorian Incident"

Headlines From the Edge: Obama Outlines Bold Space New Initiative: "Let Them Come To Us!"

2010-06-10T09:36:00.001-07:00

Following luke-warm reaction to his initiative to depend on private citizens and corporate America to push the manned space program to Mars and beyond, the president 're-clarified' his bold vision for the future, stating that since extra-terrestrials have the greater ability to travel easily through space, they should carry the greater burden of putting humans on their planets. "Hey, you know," the president explained, "you've seen their ships. You've read the books. Now let the experts in the Federal government do what it does best. We have the right plan to redistribute their technology and save or create dozens of jobs in the process."

Poetry "Memory"

2010-06-10T09:07:00.000-07:00

how I envy the rain

that you run to escape

and how I wish I knew its memory
as it kisses your face
and brushes your cheek
before falling to the ground

would that I might be a cloud,
awaiting the next storm

Kapact's Rant: Helen the Anti-Semite, B.O. Oil and Avatar Review

2010-06-10T09:06:00.000-07:00

There is so much to talk about, from the anti-semitism that Helen Thomas demonstrated (underplayed as much as possible by her liberal cohorts) as she finally left the pool, to the continued inaction by Mr Obama in the gulf.

Not much needs to be said about Helen Thomas. She is now enough of an embarrassment that finally she is gone. 0f course, there has been little mention of it in the typical liberal media. It must be hard for them to sit on their hands. If Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh had said what she did, they would find precious little else to talk about. But when Helen fouls the pool, suddenly they know nothing.

Fortunately for them, there is the oil gusher in the gulf. And just what is Mister Obama doing to stop the flow of oil and prevent it from reaching land? Well, he's pointing fingers really well. He's outraged. He's interrupted vacations to walk on beaches that were cleaned up for his visit. No, in fact he didn't, did he? No. There is evidence to suggest that he was aware of the extent of the disaster and the potential for catastrophe, a month ago but went on vacation while thousands of barrels of oil pumped into the gulf every day. So we have to wonder if he was simply incompetent, or if he let it go so as to allow the crisis to worsen and give the socialist government running this country more ammunition to demonize and maybe even nationalize the nation's oil industry. The classic question arises. What did the president know and when did he know it? And why, in the midst of the largest ecological tragedy we've ever faced, are you going back to trying to sell Obamacare? Is it intended to distract us, or is it simply because you don't know how to do anything but campaign? If you think I'm wrong, look at the recent poll that gives Bush better marks for his handling of Katrina than they give you for this.

I've just subjected myself to reading the screenplay of Avatar so that I could discuss it without putting any money in James Cameron's hands, (note to the president and the Attorney General, and pretty much the whole excuse for a government that we're stuck with: try reading something before talking about or voting for it. Leads to far fewer embarrassing moments later ) and aside from the fact that it is nowhere close to an original story, it is a poorly written piece of leftist propaganda. Unobtanium? Please. The last time I heard that was I think "The Core", and I thought it was silly then. And Mr Cameron, you took your idea from, of all places, Rocky and Bullwinkle? Upsidasium. Remember that? I do. So right off I was unimpressed. Jake Sully. Did you get that from your "Big Book of Stereotypes" in the chapter on grizzled, burnt out anti-hero names? Please, sir, invest some of your billions in writing lessons. Or a used copy of the Constitution. Now I'm sure you've got a 'support the troops' bumper sticker on your hybrid limo, but that actually doesn't negate the shabby way you treat them in this liberal fantasy. Every military member (but Jake Sully) is a racist monster. Oh, but wait. They're Ex-Marines. Well, sir, any Marine will tell you that there is no such thing as an Ex-Marine. Once a Marine, always a Marine. So give back that bumper sticker. You don't deserve it. And of course, there is the obvious parallel between the destruction of the Home Tree with the 9/11 attacks. How dare you compare the heroic men and women who bravely and proudly wear the uniform of our country with the cowardly thugs who sneak onto a plane (or car, or bus) in civilian clothes to slaughter innocents? How dare you? Everyone is entitled to their opinions, but how dare you demonize the heroic men and women who volunteer to step into harm's way to protect you? I'll just add this. Avatar is not the Number One film of all time. "Gone With the Wind" still holds that title in the only sense that means anything. Number of tickets sold. So you are still a loser.

Introducing "GOD-ly Talk"

2010-06-08T09:26:00.000-07:00

Hello there from HOUSE ABUKOFF Features Division. We would like to announce a new column that will take off next weekend (June 20). It is called GOD-ly Talk. It will have religion as its base and will take an open and unbiased look at all aspects of religion. For example, history, quotes, pictures, current trends. The column’s lead writer is Kate and other writers will also be contributing to the column. We welcome suggestions and ask that language and messages are civil. The column will go on to our site on a Saturday evening (PDT) (Pacific Daylight Time) as we are based in western USA. For your information, we will be setting up a special Twitter for this particular column, in the next few days and will let you know the name et al, when it is done.

Here is a beautiful example of a stained glass picture we thought you might be interested in. It comes from a company in the United States called Architectural Stained Glass. They clearly do some wonderful work. We leave you with this thought ‘if you do your best, whatever happens will be for the best’.

Fantasy Trek Summary of Events Stardate 0610.05

2010-06-05T08:23:00.000-07:00

Quick Start Play:

If you'd like to be able to jump right in to see if you like this game, you might want to try a few rounds of Simple Combat. The Simple Combat Game is a way for you to quickly resolve combat between vessels, or fleets of vessels. This is useful if you are playing a scenario or campaign that involves more than a few ships. Otherwise a simple scenario could take weeks to play through.

It is useful to keep a copy of the Simple Combat Template. This makes it possible to copy and paste the basics of your bit of 'paperwork', add however many ships you may need to, and change or insert ship names. Here is a very basic template (there are more in the files):

IKS rolls: o/d

USS rolls: o/d

Result:

IKS damage /15

USS damage /15

The first section is for points rolled (1d6 result times the appropriate multiplier), and how the points are allocated (offense/defense). The second "Result" section shows the calculated damage. In the case of basic AI ships, the damage potential is 15.. so you would indicate 5 points damage with 5/15. Pretty simple.

If you are playing a single player game, roll a 1d6 to see who 'wins the toss'. If you roll a 1-3, you do. Then you roll the 1d6 for your opponent first. Allocate available points according to this multiplier chart:

2 (DS) Defense Sat/(FR)Freighter X1

3 (FF) Frigate X4

4 (DD) DestroyerX6

5 (CL) Light Cruiser X8

6 (CA) Heavy Cruiser X10

7 (CC) Command Cruiser X12

8 (BCH) Heavy Battlecruiser X15

9 (DN) Dreadnought X20

10 (BB) Battleship X22

11 (CV)Carrier X25

12 (STB ) Starbase/ (BS)Base Station X50/75 (reroll, 50/50)

Here is an example of simple combat between the Klingon heavy cruiser Perseus and the Sha'kurian heavy cruiser Count: In this case, I won the toss, playing as the Perseus. That meant that I had to roll and allocate for the Sha'kurian first. (The point of all this 'coin tossing' is to add randomness to the gameplay in the single player game. It puts the luxury of being able to react to your opponent's first move on a totally random footing. And of course, whoever rolled second first time rolls first the next. Compare it to the coin toss to determine who receives the kickoff in a football game ) That first roll was a 6 (on a 1d6), for 60 points. Acting for the Shakurian, I decided to play it safe, putting it all on defense. As it turned out, the caution was unnecesary. The Klingon only rolled a 1.

IKS Perseus rolls:10 0o/10d

SRS Count rolls:60 0o/60d

Result:

IKS Perseus damage 0/25

SRS Count damage 0/15

For the next volley, the Klingon ship took its turn rolling first. It rolled a "3", for 30 points, and put them all on defense. It didn't save him because the Count rolled a 6.

IKS Perseus rolls:30 0o/30d

SRS Count rolls:60 60o/d

Result:

IKS Perseus destroyed

SRS Count damage 0/15

You'll note that the Perseus is able to take 25 points of damage. That is

because all of my play has given me a "Elite" rating. The increased available points is one of the benefits of that. For details, see "Experience Points: How to Get Them and What They Get You". If you want to take it a step further, you can capture ships using Simple Combat. You have to cause 10 points of damage to lower the enemy shields, then transport over. Ah, but to so that you have to lower your own shields. Do that by giving yourself (just for the 'transport' volley) 10 points damage. A bit tricky, with careful timing involved, but a great tactic. And of course, as new races are added to Fantasy Trek, there will be a few

necessary variations to these rules (i.e. Tholian Webs).

So what to do with all of this? As I said, the Simple Combat Game is ideal for extended scenarios involving many ships in combat. The latest is "Fifty Points" (details below)

Games in Play:

"DusaQ VeS"

Remember DusaQ VeS? I'm back on it. Chapter 8 is mapped out. I'm thinking about actually mapping the whole thing out before playing it through

"Fifty Points"

Fifty Points is on its way back. I'm getting ideas to spice things up, including a threat system to challenge all three parties and force them to work together on certain occasions.

"Head to Head Sector Assault"

Here are the updated rules (including space terrain rules):

The goal is to conquer and hold all 5 systems.

In order to do this, you must conquer, then sufficiently defend the systems while denying your enemy access to those same systems. Reduce the enemy fleet sufficiently to prevent them from building a shipyard, and stop/destroy enough enemy convoys to deny random reinforcements sufficient to threaten your shipyards. You must also attain a minimum of 13 points (see 'Victory Conditions' below)

System Conquest:

Regardless of whether a system has been taken by enemy forces, you will face a random-sized enemy fleet upon first arrival in a new system. Roll 1d6 to see what kind of space terrain will be in the system. 1,2= Asteroid field (within that, 1,2=light field 3,4=medium field 5,6=heavy field) 3,4=nebula 5,6=black hole accretion disc (note: obviously, shipyards cannot be built in a system with a black hole accretion disc. They can only be controlled by Line Of Sight rules). Roll 1d6 for size of enemy fleet, then subtract any applicable random fleet disadvantage (see below). Then use appropriate simple combat template. All surviving ships retain damage but can move and fight until destroyed. They can only be repaired by remaining in place for two turns (subject to random enemy attack each turn: (1d6: 4-6)) or by docking at shipyard for one turn. The system remains yours once you've defeated the initial fleet, but if left undefended, any attempt to conquer it will only be countered by a randomly generated fleet. You can (and should) choose to leave any combination of ships and/or a shipyard to defend it (except for systems with black hole accretion discs).

Open Space:

Enemy convoys will only be encountered in open spaces. Roll for encounter (3/6 chance). Then roll 1d6 for enemy escorts. 1-3= 1 CA escort. 4-6= 2 CA escorts. The random fleet disadvantage does not affect this. Random enemy convoy(s) must be stopped=at least 3/5 freighters destroyed or captured (5/15 damage and successful boarding party action), escorts destroyed or disabled (10/15 damage) in 5 volleys or less. Every convoy that is stopped decreases random enemy fleet size by one. This is the random fleet disadvantage. For every three freighters captured, your random fleet disadvantage is reduced by one. You will not encounter convoys in open spaces when you have conquered both adjacent systems

Enemy forces may be encountered in all open spaces (even between two conquered and held systems). Roll for encounter (2/6 chance), Roll for size of enemy fleet (use same method as in-system combat).

Shipyard:

Shipyards are recommended. They can only be built in systems that you hold (by destroying an initial assault fleet). Three starships must remain in system or open space area for three turns to build shipyard. During each turn 50% chance of random attack. (1d6: 4-6) LOS (line of sight) must be maintained to use or attack shipyard (by friendly forces or attacking fleets). Shipyard has X75 multiplier. Shipyard can construct replacement ships in 3 turns. There is no maximum fleet size. Since you must have a minimum of three ships to build a shipyard, it is recommended that you build at least one shipyard and at least two reserve ships just in case of unforeseen losses. A fleet reduced to two ships and no shipyard to fall back would have little chance of victory.

If you want to register as a player, notify me through the Yahoo Group or a comment on the blogsite. I recommend keeping a record of your games played, as they add up to experience points that enrich your gaming experience.

Victory Conditions/Points-

Shipyards 5 (max)

Fleet size 6 (max)

Reinforcement capacity 6 (max)

You must conquer 5 systems and attain 13+ VC points

Turns 1 through 6

This is definitely a different Head to Head Sector Assault. I've removed the fleet size restrictions (for taking on hard targets). Both sides have the 'Legendary' Simple Combat advantage, to actually make it head to head. But the real kicker is the inclusion of terrain rules. This is detailed in the rules, but suffice to say the Klingons took the first serious terrain-related hit. Four KCA's entered a heavy asteroid field to take on three damaged Federation cruisers building a shipyard. By the time they'd made it through three had been destroyed and the fourth one heavily damaged. Before the Klingons can win that game, they'll need to crack that nut. And for that, they'll need more than six ships. Here are the turn logs:

Turn 1)

(0510.23)

System 1 (nebula): FCA USS Discovery FCA USS Atlantis FCA USS Mercury FCA USS Thermopylae FCA USS Invictus FCA USS Iwo Jima form Fed 1st Fleet (FF1. Contact: 5 KCA's *won toss. (0510.23) FCA USS Discovery FCA USS Atlantis FCA USS Mercury FCA USS Thermopylae FCA USS Invictus FCA USS Iwo Jima vs KCA IKS LoS KCA IKS TanQut KCA IKS Chorgh KCA IKS TlhuHu KCA IKS QaHom FCA USS Discovery FCA USS Atlantis FCA USS Mercury FCA USS Thermopylae FCA USS Invictus FCA USS Iwo Jima destroyed. KCA IKS Chorg destroyed. All other Klingons undamaged.

System 5 (asteroid field/heavy): KCA IKS K'task KCA IKS Haboryan KCA IKS DuranQo KCA IKS BetleH KCA IKS Kur'ya KCA IKS NoQ'chu form Klingon 1st Fleet (KF1). Contact: 6 FCA's *lost toss. (0510.23) KCA IKS K'task KCA IKS Haboryan KCA IKS DuranQo KCA IKS BetleH KCA IKS Kur'ya KCA IKS NoQ'chu vs FCA USS Washington FCA USS Adams FCA USS Jefferson FCA USS Hamilton FCA USS Lincoln FCA USS Independence. KCA IKS K'task KCA IKS Haboryan KCA IKS DuranQo KCA IKS BetleH KCA IKS Kur'ya KCA IKS NoQ'chu destroyed. USS Adams FCA USS Hamilton FCA USS Lincoln destroyed. FCA USS Washington damage: 12/35 FCA USS Jefferson damage: 6/35 FCA USS Independence damage: 5/35

Turn 2)

(0510.29)

System 1 (nebula): KCA IKS LoS KCA IKS TanQut KCA IKS TlhuHu KCA IKS QaHom form KF2 begin construct KSY1 turn 1/3: contact? contact: 3 FCA's *won toss KCA IKS LoS KCA IKS TanQut KCA IKS TlhuHu KCA IKS QaHom vs FCA USS Ghandi FCA USS Dunkirk FCA USS D'Este. FCA USS Ghandi FCA USS Dunkirk FCA USS D'Este destroyed. Klingons undamaged.

System 5 (asteroid field/heavy): FCA USS Washington damage: 12/35 FCA USS Jefferson damage: 6/35 FCA USS Independence damage: 5/35 form FF2 begin construct FSY1 turn 1/3 contact? Contact: 4 KCA's *won toss FCA USS Washington damage: 12/35 FCA USS Jefferson damage: 6/35 FCA USS Independence damage: 5/35 vs KCA IKS Tol'Qut KCA IKS Wa'maH KCA IKS TuQ KCA IKS LoQ. KCA IKS Tol'Qut KCA IKS Wa'maH KCA IKS TuQ KCA IKS LoQ destroyed Washington damage: 17/35 FCA USS Jefferson damage: 6/35 FCA USS Independence damage: 5/35

Turn 3)

(0510.29)

System 1 (nebula): KCA IKS LoS KCA IKS TanQut KCA IKS TlhuHu KCA IKS QaHom form KF2 construct KSY1 turn 2/3: contact? contact: 4 FCA's *won toss KCA IKS LoS KCA IKS TanQut KCA IKS TlhuHu KCA IKS QaHom vs FCA USS Arizona FCA USS Montezuma FCA USS Kukulkan FCA USS Darwin. FCA USS Arizona FCA USS Montezuma FCA USS Kukulkan FCA USS Darwin destroyed. KCA IKS TanQut destroyed. Other Klingons undamaged.

System 5 (asteroid field/heavy): FCA USS Washington damage: 12/35 FCA USS Jefferson damage: 6/35 FCA USS Independence damage: 5/35 form FF2 construct FSY1 turn 2/3 contact? No contact.

Turn 4)

(0510.29)

System 1 (nebula): KCA IKS LoS KCA IKS TlhuHu KCA IKS QaHom form KF2 construct KSY1 turn 3/3: contact? no contact

System 5 (asteroid field/heavy): FCA USS Washington damage: 12/35 FCA USS Jefferson damage: 6/35 FCA USS Independence damage: 5/35 form FF2 construct FSY1 turn 3/3 contact? No contact.

Turn 4)

(0510.30)

System 1 (nebula):KF2 (KCA IKS LoS KCA IKS TlhuHu KCA IKS QaHom) on station KSY1 construct KCA IKS QultuH turn 1/3: contact? No contact

System 5 (asteroid field/heavy): FF2 (FCA USS Washington damage: 12/35 FCA USS Jefferson damage: 6/35 FCA USS Independence damage: 5/35) on station. Repair stage 1/2. FSY1 construct FCA USS Montgomery turn 1/3 contact? No contact.

Turn 5)

(0610.01)

System 1 (nebula):KF2 (KCA IKS LoS KCA IKS TlhuHu KCA IKS QaHom) on station KSY1 construct KCA IKS QultuH turn 2/3: contact? No contact

System 5 (asteroid field/heavy): FF2 (FCA USS Washington damage: 12/35 FCA USS Jefferson damage: 6/35 FCA USS Independence damage: 5/35) on station. Repair stage 2/2. FSY1 construct FCA USS Montgomery turn 2/3 contact? No contact.

Turn 6)

(0610.01)

System 1 (nebula):KF2 (KCA IKS LoS KCA IKS TlhuHu KCA IKS QaHom) on station KSY1 construct KCA IKS QultuH turn 3/3: contact? Contact 4 FCA's *won toss. KCA IKS LoS KCA IKS TlhuHu KCA IKS QaHom KSY1 vs FCA USS Charleston FCA USS Jerusalem FCA USS Cairo FCA USS Newport. FCA USS Charleston FCA USS Jerusalem FCA USS Cairo FCA USS Newport destroyed. No damage to Klingons

System 5 (asteroid field/heavy): FF2 (FCA USS Washington FCA USS Jefferson FCA USS Independence) on station. FSY1 construct FCA USS Montgomery turn 3/3 contact? No contact.

Command College:

What Are Your Orders, Captain?

"Drift" (ENT Era)

Responding to a distress signal, Captain Erika Hernandez of the Columbia NX-02 discovers a planet near the edge of known Romulan space that presents a unique dilemma. The planet, designated Alpha Galorus IV, is part of a region of space that drifts into Romulan territory due to the unique nature of galactic drift in the sector and the imprecise mapping of the just-settled treaty boundary. Based on projections, the planet (which is home to a vital sensor outpost staffed by more than a hundred scientists) will begin its journey through the neutral zone in less than a day. At that point, there will be no way to retrieve the scientists or the vital sensor data without violating the hard-fought treaty. While it is a simple matter to upload the sensor data, it is doubtful that the limited transport facilities of Columbia could bring up all of the scientists in the short time remaining.

What Are Your Orders, Captain?

Post your solution in the YahooGroup or through the blogsite's 'comment' feature.

"Captain's Log"

"... no matter what it costs..."

(Post-TNG Era)

Captain William T Riker

USS Titan

Galorndan Core has been a source of trouble between the Federation and the Romulan Empire since the very birth of the Federation. When the Romulan peace treaty was established, there were a few systems along the edge of the nuetral zone that actually drifted across the treaty boundary due to the effect of galactic drift in the area, as well as the imprecise mapping of the time. Many of those systems contained colonies that were civilian in nature and actually capable of evacuating themselves. Galorndan Core, known as Galorus IV at the time, was a different matter. It was a surveillance outpost, put there specifically to watch for any Romulans coming back to settle the score.

The actions taken by Captain Erika Hernandez of the NX Class Columbia at the time, while safeguarding the assets on the planet without provoking a resumption of warfare, inadvertantly ensured that Earth and the Romulans would be at odds over Galorndan Core for the next two hundred years. Now, as political upheaval in the Empire has presented us with the possibilty of either lasting peace or another war, Galorndan Core again finds itself at the flashpoint. As the planet begins to drift across the same poorly drawn political line from two centuries ago, the diplomatic team on the Titan will find itself joining forces with a Romulan diplomatic team to forge another treaty, this time based on more than the desperation of mutually assured destruction. As Ambassador Spock has said, we have more than fear and mistrust in common. And just as Captain Hernandez did what she did because there was no alternative, we also have no alternative. We will find a lasting solution, no matter what it costs.

For next week. write a 100+ word log entry including the phrase "... the benefit of hindsight...". Post it in the yahoo group or on the blogsite's "comment" feature for a Command College Point.

Dev Notes:

You wouldn't know it to watch the site, but it's actually been a reasonably productive week... or two. June's calender image is done, though I have yet to scan it. An exhausting couple of weeks at work, as well as a blow-dryer blowing through the desert southwest has sucked much of the motivation out of me, including the little necessary to connect the scanner to the computer. Long story, don't ask. I did snap a picture of it with my smart little Palm Treo 650, and I might just upload that. Pathetic is better than nothing at all. Space Terrain rules now apply to Head to Head Sector Assault, which is making things extremely dicey for the Klingon fleet. And that, among other things, may breath life back into Fifty Points. Here are those space terrain rules so far. just in case you're curious and forgot from last time.

The rules are for asteroid fields, nebula, black hole accretion disc. I only have rules for heavy cruisers now, but that'll change. Here are the rules so far:

Asteroid field

-heavy

--to hit: roll 6

--accident rate

volley 1 roll of 6 roll for damage

volley 2 roll of 5-6 roll for damage

volley 3 roll of 4-6 roll for damage

volley 4 roll of 3-6 roll for damage

volley 5 roll of 2-6 roll for damage

volley 6 roll for damage

-medium

--to hit: roll 5-6

--accident rate

volley 4 roll of 6 roll for damage

volley 5 roll of 5-6 roll for damage

volley 6 roll of 4-6 roll for damage

volley 7 roll of 3-6 roll for damage

volley 8 roll of 2-6 roll for damage

volley 9 roll for damage

-light

--to hit: roll 2-6

--accident rate

volley 6 roll of 6 roll for damage

volley 7 roll of 5-6 roll for damage

volley 8 roll of 4-6 roll for damage

volley 9 roll of 3-6 roll for damage

volley 10 roll of 2-6 roll for damage

volley 11 roll for damage

Nebula

temp 20% damage to simulate loss of shields

need 3-6 to hit

Black Hole Accretion Disc

need 3-6 to hit

--accident rate

volley 4 roll of 6 roll for damage

volley 5 roll of 5-6 roll for damage

volley 6 roll of 4-6 roll for damage

volley 7 roll of 3-6 roll for damage

volley 8 roll of 2-6 roll for damage

volley 9 roll for damage

volley 10 roll 1-3 to escape black hole.

These blog entries are now going to be automatically updated to Twitter.

Kate’s Cooking: Summer Cooking - Tuna and Chorizo

2010-06-03T23:17:00.000-07:00

Greetings folks. Well here comes the very hot weather in the desert south west and here comes the season of what I like to call ‘fast cooking’. Fun salads, filling for tacos and hot meals that are easy are some examples. It is a good idea to cook at night, a little ahead if you can. This cuts down on the heat in the kitchen. Ingredients today are varied and the dishes revolve around tuna and chorizo sausage. I so like working with both of these. You can buy tuna fairly cheaply in supermarkets and chorizo also but if you are near a super Mercado or a Mexican supermarket then I would recommend that you buy your chorizo there. The first recipe is a family favorite again. It is a tuna shepherd’s pie. The second recipe is simple tacos based on chorizo as a change from ground beef and taco seasonings.

TUNA SHEPHERD’S PIE

Firstly, let me say that I generally cook this in the microwave but there is no reason that it can be put together on the stove top.

1 can tuna (small is fine)
Mashed potatoes (flaked – a 6 serving measure or 3 large potatoes – cooked and mashed)
1 large onion – chopped medium

1 fresh corn cob - stripped
Flour, milk and margarine
Fajita seasoning
3 pieces of bread – fresh crumbled
2 to 3 tablespoons cheese (optional) Side Dressing: ketchup, mayonnaise & finely sliced tops green onions or chives

Put onion in a microwave bowl along with 3 tablespoons margarine and cook for about 4 minutes. Add 2 teaspoons fajita seasoning and stir. Add 3 tablespoons flour and stir until mixed and add approx. 2 cups milk and cook until thick. You need a thick sauce base. Add tuna that has been drained. Place the mix in a microwave casserole. Cover with the mashed potatoes then the breadcrumbs and dot with pieces of the cheese (if used). Reheat until the center is hot and serve with the side dressing. You don’t, of course, have to use the dressing – it is one of our family’s weird tastes! This recipe is nice all mixed up together in a giant mush and used on sandwiches and in tacos or tortillas.

CHORIZO filling for tacos or tortillas.

This is as simple as you can get. Take your chorizo sausage and split the skin and squeeze it out into a smaller frypan (skillet). It is not necessary to add any oil. Just don’t have the pan on a high heat. Add 1 x red onion that has been chopped. As an alternative to using sliced lettuce in the tortilla or taco, try using spinach with a little vinegar (of choice) sprinkled on it. Use your own choice of shredded cheese, dressing (chipotle is great) and chopped tomatoes as fillers. These are so delicious, take next to no time to make and you don’t end up with a hot kitchen.

SOMETHING TO NOTE:

If you live in a very hot climate (as is our summer here) then don’t forget to drink tea. Iced tea is a wonderful pleasure to imbibe in the hot weather. In the middle east they drink a lot of mint tea and this is great. Mint is easy to grow – use a large margarine pot for the base with a few stones in the bottom and some good potting mix. Keep it moist but not overly so and there is your ‘tea’ leaves. Rosemary tea is also very nice and good for your stomach. This herb can be grown in a pot to and outside as a tree. It is a wonderful herb to use with meat dishes. We drink a lot of green tea. I make it in a juice bottle (plastic) and use 4 tea bags to the 64oz. size and I put it in the window sill and it takes no time at all to mix. We like to mix our green tea with a little orange juice when we have it. It is so important in the summer time to keep hydrated and when my husband has finished using his soda bottles I clean them and fill them with water and put them in the fridge. He doesn’t drink a lot of soda just occasionally. Soda may taste nice but it is really not good for you in bulk.

Well that’s it for this week. Take care out there wherever you are and if you have any ethnic recipes you might like to send me, I would be so very happy to receive them.

This is my other ‘kitchen supervisor’ – her name is Miss Daisy and she is stretching out for anything I will give her. Namely tuna water – her favorite. God bless you and keep well. Cheers, Kate.

ANIMAL PIC OF THE WEEK June 2nd 2010

2010-06-02T23:34:00.000-07:00

Hello there from House Abukoff. We have a new feature to tell you about. Every Wednesday, we will put out a pic for you entitled ANIMAL PIC OF THE WEEK. As we go about our internet forays we come across some truly fascinating animal pictures from a variety of sources. We greatly admire the photographers who are in the right place at the right time and get these wonderful pictures. Enjoy!

We thought this pic was wonderful. It reminded us of moments in our own home over the many years we have had cats as members of our family. Congratulations to the photographer who was able to catch this truly charming moment.

Editorial Desk, House Abukoff