T'Aniz Jozef

So ? Who's the M, already ?! :)

GREAT SIMMING !! :) Imagine being among a small group of cadets, and a nine year old boy, locked in Ten Forward when the lights go out! What would YOU do? -- Thanks for the great simm, STSF'ers. :) Tuesdays at Midnight are Amazing !! :)

GREETINGS !! Welcome to STSF. And thank you for your service. Really appreciate that you and the ones with you are keeping us free and safe. Especially on this (just past) Veteran's Day, I'd like to say thank you. See ya in the simms! :)

Hey! Where'd this go?? All I get is a blank page. Is it my PC or something?? Didn't know being a drone could be so funny. :) Felt like I was in the middle of a Gene Wilder spoof, drone-ing around in the sim. :) Will it beam onto this site soon??? :)

And who else is ubiquitous in a suavely over-the-top fashion? Besides, you've had that Bond avatar for the longest...

Weird Lights Submitted for your consideration...mother nature...in her stranger moments :) The following quote is taken from www.firstscience.com ---------------------------------------------------- quote from www.firstscience.com----- Great Balls of Fire In June 1996 a sphere of light the size of a tennis ball flew into a printing factory in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire. A dozen workers looked up in astonishment as the blue and white ball whizzed round inside, spinning along girders, hitting print machinery, sending sparks flying. Finally it hit a window and exploded with an orange flash and a tremendous bang, knocking out the telephone switchboard. "The whole place was lit up," said Simon Pocock, one of the staff. "The sparks were unbelievable - it was like a horror movie." Three people received electric shocks, one lady was hit in the shoulder. Thousands of people all over the world have reported seeing mysterious glowing balls of light gliding inside their homes and even inside aircraft. They vary in size from a golfball to a football, in a variety of iridescent colours, with little noise, no smell and generally disappear by hitting television sets or other electrical fittings with a pop. In the most violent cases, glowing balls have exploded into flames and set houses ablaze. It's a phenomenon called "ball lightning". It usually come during thunderstorms, but no one knows what it is except that it's an electrical freak of nature. Ball lightning might even help explain "Foo Fighters". In World War II many pilots reported glowing balls of light flying alongside their aircraft. They thought it was some sort of secret enemy weapon, but German and Allied pilots both experienced the same phenomenon. To this day the lights remain a complete mystery. We know that thunderstorms can put on some other very weird light displays. In olden days mariners often saw the tops of their ship masts glow as thunderstorms developed. They called it "St Elmo's fire", and its eerie light comes from the intense static electricity streaming up tall objects and discharging as a glowing corona. One of the most fantastic displays in recent times was in 1976 when many of the players at a school football match in Dover, England found their heads glowing and understandably abandoned their game! In itself St Elmo's isn't dangerous but it often appears just before a lightning strike, so if you do experience it, it might be wise to get out of the area as soon as possible. ----------------------- end quote-------------------------------------------------------

:) Boyohboy! Did I get lost! :D As simming is absolutely new to me (never simmed before I found this site, just a month ago), I got really mixed up over a basic: Posting XO, Posting Executive Officer, means that the STSF official is NOT, repeat NOT, playing an executive officer role on the ship. The STSF official is doing the posting for the simm, and is in reserve to play any extra character. MXO, Mission Executive Officer, means that the player is the in the simm as a character, playing the executive officer of the CO, the Commanding Officer. So, I thought the Posting XO was the ship's executive. And I thought the MXO, me, had to answer to him/her. Boy, did I get lost. The MXO answers directly to the CO in the game. The Posting XO is not in the chain of command. Not an executive officer. He's posting which person gets what role. And he might play in the simm, but as a needed character, NOT as executive officer. I should add, the STSF'ers saw I was lost. Helped me. Got me back on track. Forgave me!!! :D lol . And I was still able to enjoy the simm. I hope this definition helps someone. And if anyone can state it more clearly than I just did, please go right ahead!! I'm still too new at this to know how to write out the rules clearly! ::sigh:: :rolleyes: Lots of thanks to STSF Jorlis and STSF Jami !! :)

V'GER LEAVES SOLAR SYSTEM!! NEXT STOP: MACHINE PLANET Voyager I was launched in 1977. It is beginning to cross the rim of our solar system. It is going where no man-made object has gone before ... The following is edited, from an article found in www.astronomy.com :: --------------------------- begin edited article ------------------------ SCIENCE NEWS SPACE MISSIONS To boldly go where no spacecraft has gone before As the most distant manmade object, Voyager 1 has reached the edge of the solar system and is providing scientists with clues about this mysterious region. by Jeremy McGovern Launched in 1977, Voyager 1 explored Saturn and Jupiter. In 1977, Voyagers 1 and 2 launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on a mission to study the solar system's gas giants. Following successful observations of Jupiter and Saturn in 1979 and 1980, Voyager 1 continued toward the outer reaches of the solar system. Now more than 8 billion miles (13 billion kilometers) away from Earth, Voyager 1 has provided scientists with a view of a mysterious region of space. Between August 1, 2002, and February 5, 2003, mission scientists detected curious readings from instruments aboard the spacecraft. Upon review, the data showed Voyager 1 had entered a section of the solar system unlike any previously encountered. “Voyager 1 is giving us our first taste of interstellar space,” says Stamatios Krimigis of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. “This is our first direct look at the incredibly dynamic activity in the solar system’s outer limits.” While Voyager 1 certainly has entered an unfamiliar area in the solar system, interpretations vary about the craft’s exact location. Not nearly as far away from Earth as its twin, Voyager 2 is moving southward through the solar system. Voyager 2 should provide more detail concerning the termination shock because its solar-wind tool is functioning properly. Both spacecraft have the potential to continue operating until 2020. xxxxxxxxxx End of edited article from www.astronomy.com of 11/07/2003 :) xxxxxx

This question is one a' those things that make ya wanna go mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.......(like Arsenio Hall used to say)

First: NEWS ALLERT !! Saturday, Nov. 8th, there will be an eclipse of the moon. East Coast (Canada & USA) residents will get the best view. See www.nasa.com for detail, among other places. Second: this information is fascinating: 1859:Worst Solar Storm in Recorded History. Telegraph was only 15 years old. The solar flares were so mighty they knocked out the power supply for the telegraph. Then, the solar flares themselves powered the telegraph. I dunno...but this sounds like a great time travel plot...imagine a starship getting caught up in solar flares and then thrown back in time to 1859...it has potential...any GM's overhearing? :) Here is a highly edited (by me) report of the 1859 storm. The complete report, and other fascinating stuff, can be found at: www.space.com /////\\\\\/////\\\\\/////\\\\\/////\\\\\/////\\\\\/////\\\\\/////\\\\\ The Great Storm: Solar Tempest of 1859 Revealed A pair of strong solar storms that hit Earth late last week were squalls compared to the torrent of electrons that rained down in the "perfect space storm" of 1859. And sooner or later, experts warn, the Sun will again conspire again send earthlings a truly destructive bout of space weather. If it happens anytime soon, we won't know exactly what to expect until it's over, and by then some modern communication systems could be like beachfront houses after a hurricane. In early September in 1859, telegraph wires suddenly shorted out in the United States and Europe, igniting widespread fires. Colorful aurora, normally visible only in polar regions, were seen as far south as Rome and Hawaii. The event 144 years ago was three times more powerful than the strongest space storm in modern memory, one that cut power to an entire Canadian province in 1989. A new account of the 1859 event, from research led by Bruce Tsurutani of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, details the most powerful onslaught of solar energy in recorded history. Solar conspiracy Space storms are created when the Sun erupts, sending charged particles racing outward, an expanding bubble of hot gas called plasma. In 1859, four crucial events conspired at one moment, Tsurutani told SPACE.com. "The plasma blob that was ejected from the Sun hit the Earth," he said. That's a relatively routine event. What preceded the strike was more unusual. "The blob came at exceptionally high speeds. It took only 17 hours and 40 minutes to go from the Sun to Earth." Solar storms typically take two to four days to traverse the 93 million miles (150 million kilometers). "The magnetic fields in the blob, called a coronal mass ejection, were exceptionally intense," Tsurutani said. "And the fourth, most important, ingredient was that the magnetic fields of the blob were opposite in direction from the Earth's fields." Earth's magnetic field normally protects the surface of the planet from a continual flow of charged particles, called the solar wind, and even does a pretty good job defending against some storms. When a storm swept past Earth last Friday, it met up with magnetic field pointed in such a way that it thwarted the storm's effects. That's not always the case. In 1859, the planet's defenses were overwhelmed. That was then … Society back then did not notice the storm the way it would today. The telegraph was 15 years old. There were no satellite TV feeds, no automated teller machines relying on orbiting relay stations, and no power grids. Tsurutani said scientists can't yet accurately measure or predict what the strength or direction of Earth's magnetic field will be when a storm arrives. The storms themselves can be predicted. And Tsurutani says there will eventually be another one like 1859. "It could very well be even more intense than what transpired in 1859," he says. "As for when, we simply do not know." ... ... During the 1859 flare-up, solar observers logged almost an entire minute during which the amount of sunlight doubled at the region of the flare. A strong storm does its damage in part by inducing currents on power and communication lines, leading to potential overloads. Obviously, there are a lot more wires on Earth today, "so one might expect much worse problems if it occurred today." This article is part of SPACE.com's weekly Mystery Monday series. :)

Ah! The Squire Trelaine's continuum...not as advanced as the Q, they're only the M. Or! An M-Class planet...

Ooops! Spelling! It's VORAN::: Happy Birthday, Voran!

:) At other places on this board I already wished HAPPY BIRTHDAY ! to you, Dumbass, and to all of you Garnoopy. But also want to wish Vortek (sp?) a Happy Bday!!! also. Congrats to all of youze, however many that is.... :)

:D At the Board Statistics, at the bottom of the Message Board main page, we have listed our newest member: Member #383: Admiral Atragon-9 :D Just thought it'd be nice to welcome our newest one. It's always good to have an Admiral among our ranks!!! p.s. I was even going to use the word "newbie" but then thought I'd end up peeling potatoes for the next 26 months, so, naw, it wasn't worth it! :rolleyes:

Beautiful boards, Webby! Thanks a lot! And as was said above...new boards...new title. Actually, I just saw this one at www.NASA.com. It's on a patch that was designed after the Columbia disaster. In fact, the patch memorializes the three disasters: Apollo I, Challenger, and Columbia. May I please change my title to: Semper Exploro ? Thank you.

Yo! Dumbass! :D HAPPY BIRTHDAY !! :rolleyes:

:D HAPPY BIRTHDAY !! ... to however many of you were born today! :rolleyes:

:D Uh...I just checked out "The Moderating Team" (at the page's bottom). I'm ...uh...happy...to report, if happy is the word, that the team includes: Sovak STSF Admin unnamed Atragon9 STSF_Atragon Admiral Atragon-9 I'm so...uh...happpy...uh that there are so many people. ::goes to her list of Star Trek species and to see which species exists in triplicate:: :rolleyes: Hey, no offense meant...just joking around, Admiral! :D

I've included a very edited (by me) sales write up of a book called WOMEN ASTRONAUTS. This review can be found at a website called "Everything Space Astronomy And Space News." Please note the part about 1978, nearly a decade after TOS was canceled...this was the big break through...your encyclopedia can give more info. : AUTOGRAPHED by the author. This book is a must for any girl or young woman who wants to learn about women astronauts. ... In 1963, Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova was the first woman in space. But few people know that several American women also tried to get into space in the early 1960's but never became NASA astronauts. Read their story and how attitudes towards women in space changed with the 1978 selection of six women astronauts. Put the CD-ROM into your computer and watch America's first woman astronaut Sally Ride rocket into space, Shannon Lucid float on the Mir Space Station, and Susan Helms work on the International Space Station. PS to author Laura Woodmansee....You go girl! ... and, click here to see our female astronaut action figure. As I said above...there is no attacking...this is a matter of historical fact. NOW women can choose a traditional lifestyle or a career...almost any career. THEN women did not have such choices available... . That is history, not opinion, not attack... Studying the life of Sally Ride, the first female astronaut, will illuminate that. ::Vulcan eyebrow still arched:: Nor were there women in high command places in the military. That was society...then. My point is that Roddenbury helped to bring about a change in society. He was not alone, but he and other forward thinkers were on the cutting edge. Roddenbury's Uhura actually inspired Mae Jamieson (sp?) to become the first Afro-American Woman Astronaut. Without a doubt, the world would be a different place without the brave vision of Roddenbury. We have much of what we have today thanks to Gene Roddenbury and other men and women of extraordinary vision. :rolleyes:

Neither Grom... Merely stating the history ::she says raising a Vulcan eyebrow::. Other than that, I was praising Star Trek: TOS for being in the forefront of change...and commenting that what looks old, sexist, and traditional to us now, was in fact radical, pro-woman, and untraditional back then. It's not an attack, it's an historical comparison. ::raises Vulcan eyebrow::In the statement of facts there is no emotion, Mr. GromVic. :rolleyes:

In TNG, the pilot episode, ENCOUNTER AT FARPOINT, look real hard and you'll see something interesting: Men wearing mini-length dresses! :D Apparently Roddenbury wanted to be all-inclusive. But even in the mid-80's, that was taboo, aside from Uncle Miltie (Milton Berle). And, I once read an interview where Roddenbury admitted his original treatment of women in TOS was sexist. But we can't apply today's standards...the 1960's was sexist! Actually, just to have a woman in a command position on the Bridge was a breakthrough, as it was to have an Asian, as it was to have an Afro-American. Star Trek also has the first inter-racial kiss ever seen on TV, in PLATO'S STEPCHILDREN. It's hard to imagine how it was back then, society has so changed. But Star Trek gave women a lot more respect than most 60's shows did. Young women watched the show and became inspired to do more with their lives than society prescribed. It could really be said that TOS helped bring about the social change. Not single-handedly, but it was one factor. Female astronauts have admitted to watching TOS in their youth and deciding that career was for them.... The series may look limited now, it was radical then. :rolleyes:

:) Yeah, the stars were kinda neat. And an overall system sounds like fun ... except for those who have to maintanin and post it! :D Wondering about the "warning" signs...if it's in the FAQ's, the answer is unavailable as the FAQ's are not yet us (which is understandable, by the way). There's 5 spots to light up, I see. Could anybody elaborate: Are these levels? Is it officially based, or based on absence (i.e., computer generated). And, say, if we can see our own warning levels, why not let us see our own "star levels" -- what ever the stars are called. Still agree, a pip system would be kinda cool ... :rolleyes: And, again, congrats Webby... you've done a great job. Really like our new home. :D

Good question. Matter of fact, what do the stars mean? How is it determined how many we have? Who determines this? How can one upgrade and/or avoid being downgraded. Is there a name for each category of stars? I saw "newbie" -- is that an official name? :D This list is brought to you by your homegrown QUESTION BOX :D And yes, really like the new boards. Just, I haven't a clue how to download avatars. So I wish that you had more Star Trek Avatars to choose from. T'Pol is kinda austere...even for a Vulcan. Thanks for doing all the hard work to get the boards up and running so quickly!! :rolleyes:

:rolleyes: Hiya guys...and gals... Gotta tell you I feel so lame here...back to my refrain: "I jus' gotta new PC." ... But really, all this new stuff! So, I here an' now warn my CO and XO, if I have trouble figuering out a new message board...do not...DO NOT...put me at the helm. If you value your life: <<Substitute HELM>>::thinks, mmmm let me see what happens if I push that button....:: Oh O! <XO> Sir, I think we should abandon ship about now... Thank goodness they put me in security!! And the boards: they are beautiful. Thanks, STSF web-fixers! :D

She kept repeating to herself that old saying, "You have nothing to fear but fear itself." But this time the 20th Century battlecry left her heart cool. She wasn't going into battle. This was just a ship assignment. The wrong assignment. That's what was wrong. She was going to the wrong place. She sat back in her desk chair. "Computer, play back the recent record of posting, following the bookmarks I've placed," she ordered again. She'd view it one more time. Maybe this time she could get it straight in her head, she thought. "Searching..." the impassive computer voice intoned. It was a poor substitute for a friendly conversationalist at this point, she felt. Then the scenes replayed: "First sequence..." the computer announced. There was her academy advisor. On the screen he was smiling as he announced that her first choice for ship assignment had come through. Why shouldn't it have? She graduated 6th in her class. Honors in security, her major. She could have her pick ... so she thought. On screen, her advisor explained, "Know you loved your junior year assignment of one month on the USS PHOENIX, the ship once commanded by Captain Ben Maxwell before he ... well .... The ship you've got is also a sleek Nebula Class, with lots of updates you'll enjoy. And a Captain who's halfVulcan, halfHuman, but he favors his Human side, as you do. His name is ... "Going to second sequence..." the computer cut in. The screen shifted to those very orders. There they were, in front of her. How could something set in stone be so easily ... pulverized? Who, who, who had the power and the pull to change orders at this stage in the game? She read her original orders again: Report to the USS CARLSBERG NCC-36721. SCIENCE VESSEL NEBULA CLASS "Going to third sequence," the computer implacably intoned. Not even a person, human or otherwise, telling her why. Explaining it to her. Apologizing to her. Consoling her. And no one to appeal to. Just this announcement: NOTICE::CHANGE OF ORDERS::NOTICE REPORT TO THE USS REPUBLIC NCC-1371-D SCIENCE VESSEL GALAXY CLASS CHANGE EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY. ALL PRIOR ORDERS NULL AND VOID. "Going to fourth sequence.." stated the computer. It had no idea that the young woman's heart felt broken. It just flashed on the screen the final instructions: REPORT to the Star Fleet San Francisco Shuttle Port at 0600 hours. (Failure to report will constitute AWOL status.) You will receive safe passage to the REPUBLIC "End of Program...Waiting for new instructions," the computer flatly said. "None. Computer, end program and shut down," she replied. That was all there was to it. Like it or not, her life had changed. She remembered the early 20th Century saying, "Ours is not to question why, our is but to do or die." Yes, that helped. She was, after all, in the military. THEY could dispose of her as they wished. And so they did. But it's not the end of the world, she reflected. She remembered the recent attacks on the Sol system. That's the stuff that matters. We've all got to pull together now. I'm security. If they want me on a ship of exploration...or war...who am I to naysay them? I chose the Carlsburg before the attacks. Everything's changed now. All of our lives are going to change even more. Guess I might as well be on the front line. At least it'll be interesting. And I'll be useful. That's important, she thought, being useful. She'd been getting ready for bed as she thought these things through. She sipped the last of her warm milk and pulled the cover over herself. Just a few hours sleep, then up and to the shuttle port. Gee, I hope I don't have those dreams again tonight about the attack on the academy. Need ... my ... sleep .... And with that she drifted into a less than peaceful slumber. A sleep of dark images and red fire. A sleep with unclear cries for help in dreams she'd barely rememer. A sleep with tossing...turning. A sleep with little rest. A wartime sleep.