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Christian College Sex Comedy: Part 27 Appreciation? In 30 parts, By FinalStand. Listen to the podcast at Explicit Novels.             Children must face the scrutiny of their parents     The Dining Hall was almost a relief. That relief died the moment I saw the banner over the front of the serving area in the Hall. 'Zane Appreciation Day'. Since every word was spelled correctly, it wasn't some stunt of Rio's, but beyond that, the list of suspects was too large to consider. This could be a genuine outpouring of acceptance and sympathy for what I had endured here. If you believe that, I have to ask you: 'Do you want your leprechaun pissing Guinness or Irish Malt?'   Most likely, this was going to be some sort of humiliation, and I think I knew the flavor, and I definitely knew how to find out. See, in every seat of the Dining Hall was a big, bowling ball sized white box with a name and secured with a gold and green ribbon, so no cheating; no peeking. That last bit didn't deter me, though. I snuck up on the box marked for Holiday Carpenter.   "Zane, does that have your name on it?" Virginia Goodswell asked me, my English teacher and Spiritual Advisor. Hell, if it had been Mrs. Marlowe, I would have opened it anyway, but Virginia was my buddy so her next question didn't mean to stab a stake of regret through my heart. "Where is Vivian?"   "I left my room before she was done." I looked to the ground while I kicked some imaginary dust off the slate floor.   "Why don't you see if she's been calling you?" she suggested. "She's probably worried." Worried, or homicidal because, ya know, I had sort of run off without my phone, wallet, watch, book bag, or anything else a 21st century student might need.   "I ran away like a big, fat chicken," I confessed. "Anything not glued to my body I left behind."   "I'll give her a call." She pulled out her phone and hit speed dial #2. I crap since her sick mother is probably #1. I am such a big problem for her, she has my guardian on speed dial! "That is Holiday Carpenter's box, Zane, not yours. Besides, there are strict instructions to not open the boxes until instructed."   The panicky response I overheard from Virginia's conversation with Vivian hardly helped my mood. She wanted to know if Virginia knew where I was, she did; that I was okay, I was; and finally, what upset me, because the other girls weren't talking but apparently Mercy had started slapping Barbie Lynn around until Rio and Val pulled her off. Now, that made less than no sense. Wasn't that supposed to work the other way around?   Virginia did a double check and sure enough, Mercy had slammed Barbie Lynn into an open wardrobe on my behalf, and Rio and Val had pulled her back. WTF! I am sure that Rio was right beside me on that one. Vivian triple checked that I was physically and mentally okay and she sounded so disappointed, in herself, as she did so. She was bringing my stuff; yes, I am an earthworm. Virginia promised for me that I would remain here until she arrived.   Some stupid gesture like a loud public apology, done on bended knee, was blatantly unfair to Vivian, who only meant the best for me. I made a quick apology, not trying to meet her eyes as I said the words and took my stuff. All of 'my' girls seemed equally subdued. A minute after we had garnered our victuals, Vivian put a hand on my elbow.   "Don't be so hard on yourself, Zane," Vivian smiled warmly at me. "You take a lot of stress and pressure on yourself. I understand that from time to time you need to take in a tiny bit of private space for yourself. Clearly, you can't schedule any such time because nothing around you stays a secret for very long and no one respects your privacy or even asks what you need."   "Vivian," I was puzzled, "you deserve to be righteously pissed with me. You are my Guardian and I promised to stay by you or at least tell you where I was."   "Zane, we let you down," Vivian assured me. "It is your dorm room and we are your guests, and we have been rather poor guests at that."   "How about we call a truce?" I offer.   "I can live with that," Vivian smiled.   "Cut the Kumbaya-time, kids," Rio snorted derisively. "Zane, what the fuck happened with Mercy?" Rio playfully punched Mercy's arm to emphasize her uncertainty.   "Rio, Bro, drop it," I asked sincerely. "Act like it didn't happen." Rio studied me a second, then got this wickedly evil grin.   "What the hell are you talking about, Glenda?" she hefted the box up then shook it. "It seems my damn box is glued shut. Are we celebrating one thousand cunts licked by you, or what?"   Because Rio rarely expounded at a level below full volume, next thing we hear is Mrs. Marlow snapping, "Ms. Talon, watch your language; there are good Christian women being forced to sit within the sound of your voice!"   "Gotcha, Ms. Mouthful," Rio snapped off with a snap and a finger raised up like a pistol in the air.   "What did you say?" Marlowe closed the distance.   "She was repeating what I pointed out," I turned and smiled. "I said that you really had it going together this morning; that you were more than a mouthful. That's a hip/trending term to describe someone who is expressing themselves through clothing and make-up."   "You are lying, Mr. Braxton," she snarled.   "You are probably right, as I do so to you on general principle, but good luck proving it in student court," I grinned right back. We locked wills and she blinked first.   "Ms. Phillips," Marlowe turned on Vivian, "what are you going to do about this?"   "Zane and Rio, would you please apologize for being rude and insensitive to an educator who only wishes the best for the student body?" Vivian requested.   "I so apologize," I bowed my head.   "I so apologize as well," Rio tacked on. Only after Marlowe had gone to spread love and sunshine somewhere else did Rio lean across me and whisper to Vivian.   "You rock!" Rio giggled gleefully. After all, Rio and I had not apologized to Mrs. Marlowe because neither one of us believed for a minute that she was 'an educator who only wishes the best for the student body'. To that nameless entity, we owed a debt, and to Mrs. Marlow we owed a generous 'fuck you,' and Vivian had made it all possible.   "Why, thank you, Rio," Vivian nodded her acceptance of Rio's praise. "Jesus is the Peacemaker and we all should attempt to emulate his teachings."   "So, I still don't get to lick you senseless?" Rio snickered.   "No, no, you don't," Vivian smiled, even though she didn't look at either of us. Vivian's going to rock as a mom.   The next half hour passed quietly. Everyone was curious about the boxes but no one was too worried until a rumor suddenly appeared. When it was suggested that they might have to put on bikinis, the fear set in. I blamed, I don't know but I wish I had thought of it. I was still kicking myself for the missed opportunity when my alien with the right face black and left face white shows up with the right face white and left face black, Mhain and Millicent.   "Death Match and you get to referee," Rio teased me. "I'm so jealous; 500 bucks on the one with the soul." Mhain glared hate at us while Millicent looked more than amused.   "Zane, come with us," Mhain gloated. I figured that somehow my ordeal was coming to an end so I'd play along. I rose and they steered me to the largest exit, flanking me.   Christina and Company grabbed their boxes and jumped up quickly to follow me, though they looked as confused as I was, confirming none of them were the architect of my discomfort. No sooner had we stepped into the cool, sunlit lawn than everyone's phone rang, except mine. I was loving this, right up there with having sandpaper buffing my sunburned abs.   "Open the box and follow the instructions," Christina informed me. "Is anyone going to do this?" My phone vibrated once, then my whole body tingled before I could respond to the call.   "I am," Mhain gloated. "I was promised something." She knelt and opened her box with enthusiasm; the others did likewise but at a more sedate pace.   What came out of each box was almost identical, different only in the anatomical part of the body indicated by the instructions. The objects were all grapefruit-sized fur-balls that made darling little squeaks, squeals and murmurs, amongst other sympathetic noises, all in tiny little voices. They were to be placed on my body, but I didn't know how that would work.   "Are we going to do this?" Chastity began to say.   "It isn't sticky," Hope was also saying when Mhain's flew out of her hand and hit the side of my left knee. She reached out carefully to retrieve hers while the other girls circled in. The little darlings were proving to be resilient little bastards. Several more leapt at me from the hands of their owners.   All this time the furry grapefruit were giving little 'wee!' noises when they shot at me and screeched like demons when they were removed, which was painful when they were on my flesh. I knew who was responsible and she was going to pay, but not right now. I saw my closest allies pulling back.   "TLM, Christina," I sighed in resignation. "Let's get this over with." I was being totally self-sacrificial; girls were starting to pile-up on us coming out of the Dining Hall. I didn't want a riot. Mhain had technically tagged me first but not in the designated spot, so I had Christina go first, she put one over my heart, not that I thought Cordelia was stupid, but now she was just piling it on.   Mhain went next and she was sizzling and excited, she put it on my lips, shutting me up. At least the girls were polite and organized enough to come at me patiently. A few didn't get the 'memo' and their little rug rats slipped out of their owner's grasp and got to play gleeful kamikaze as they plowed into me.   It didn't hurt but I had this secret fear that the tiny terrors would sprout fangs and tear into me. These little guys were murmuring and mumbling and it wasn't until I was truly buried that a horrific realization was made, the more that were on me, the greater their clinging power. In retrospect, this would have been more useful if we hadn't passed the 700 mark.   I looked like a puffy, overweight, Sasquatch baby. I could move but sitting down was a dream, as was running or going to the bathroom. The damn things wouldn't shut up either. It fell to Hope and Iona to hurry me (as much as possible) to Assembly; you know that place where I 'sit' in front. At least no one could ask me anything with the expectation of receiving an answer.   I no longer wondered how bad it could get; I knew it would get worse, and while I didn't know how, I knew it would be soon. At the start of Assembly my little friends joined in the singing, not using words but in the tinny little noises they made, though admittedly they were enthusiastic and determined. But it gets worse.   There was a discussion on stage after that fiasco about removing me. Chancellor Bazz wanted me gone; Vice Chancellor Scarlett was not in attendance but Virginia took up my cause. After all, it wasn't my fault, she claimed.   "Well, Black, do something," the first three rows heard Bazz demand of our Head of Security.   "I am not an engineer or a chemist," Black replied. "Do you want me to shoot them off him?"   Oh, yeah, my girl Bazz wanted that, so bad. Of course, what she really wanted was for Black to miss, but that wasn't going to happen. Finally, the teachers decided to soldier on. When Chancellor Bazz stepped up to begin services, the frightening fur-balls belted out 'Hail to the Chief.'   No one said a word, not a murmur. Chancellor Bazz stopped and the munchkin chorus stopped too. Two more starts later and she gave up and grudgingly took the 'praise' from my infestation. They were good throughout the message and sermon but took up 'Hail to the Chief' when she tried to leave the podium.   "Do something!" she screamed at Black. This time, Gabrielle sedately headed my way. I didn't want to think of the pain coming my way. My little buddies had my back. When she got within five feet the all screamed, and I mean SCREAMED, in the loudest cacophony most of us present had ever heard. I saw something I thought I would never see; Gabrielle flinched.   Not so oddly, I was fine, hearing almost nothing. The little guys on my ears soaked up the sound so I received a very watered-down version of what they were doing. Gabrielle fell back and at the five foot mark, the little guys shut up, mostly. They seemed to be making comforting noises to one another, like one Zane-sized colony of brown mold.   "Get away from him; just get away from him," good old Doctor Melrose Bazz pleaded as she moved her hands away from her ears. "Braxton, you stop this right now." I had a wee beastie on my mouth and Bazz was not on the small list of people I would devour this thing for. If she's looking for a conversation today, she's out of luck. She throws her hands up in desperation and starts to storm off. My little cock-sucking furry gonads (yes, I was getting angry) fired up 'Hail to the Chief' yet again, and kept at it until she sat down. Virginia got to thinking it's appropriate to call for the end of this travesty but she's dealing with Cordelia Dresden, Top Gun of the Time Lord Mafia. The weapon of choice; 'She's a Lady' by some guy named Tom Jones, the ladies in my life will inform me about this later.   For a half a second she tries to fight her smile but she surrenders, even letting the little guys go through the entire score before talking. The little tinny voices were humming a song I didn't know but damn it, it made me want to take Virginia out to a smoky Jazz club and dance until the sun came up. Virginia actually started tapping her foot to rhythm and I began thinking I might not be able to beat Cordelia. I'm not used to that sensation.   "Okay, now, whoever is doing this has put Zane through enough and should remember that we should, as Christians, make students feel safe and not make them subjects of humiliation," Virginia addressed the student body. "I think we can end Assembly fifteen minutes early today for a little bit of Christian charity. We can do it at Zane's first class, 204 Denning Hall."   By the way, I apparently have a play list. As Virginia headed back, the fella's changed it up with 'Baby Got Back'. I wanted to die. Virginia Goodswell has a truly fine ass, of this there is no doubt, I often compare it to Barbie Lynn's, but please. Virginia stopped, turned toward me with a dazzling smile and waggled her finger at me, then resumed her way to her seat.   How is any of this my fault? I imagine I was lucky it wasn't the Thong Song. I would have died, then come back as the undead to take Cordelia to hell with me. It was with some relief that Vivian and Hope rallied to my side. They had to both keep other students away, the other girls loved poking me in different critters to make them call out in different pitches and tenors, which was pleasant to hear if you liked overdosing on helium.   Surprise, surprise; no one came to my succor before English class. I couldn't sit down. Okay, I tried, but any part of my body that bent or that I sat on screamed bloody murder until I got off of it or stopped putting on the press. I've heard about girlfriends like this but I've always assumed I would have the courage to jump out of a 50 story building to escape.   What do you do if they come with you when you jump besides basking in the vicarious thrill that comes from crushing half of them beneath you before you go? I managed to do okay standing in the rear of the class, only once giving in to the crushing fatigue of holding my arms somewhat elevated for two hours. The two under my arms were especially cooperative and didn't get too vocal when my arms did slip to my sides.   I couldn't do a thing about the occasional girl twisting in her seat but either Raven's glare or Goodswell's cough brought their eyes forward once more. At the end of class, Virginia decided to call Ms. Black and have her take me to the Vice Chancellor's office to end this matter. Vivian and Mercy provided support while Gabrielle kept her distance and cleared a path.   Rio helped out by playing my musical miscreants as if they were a drum set while some part of the 700 members of my new posse and I yelled at her to leave us alone. She really is my best friend. My tragically slow pace was not my friend and everyone had to depart for their classes before I finished the arduous travel to the Administration Building. Gabrielle's eyes measuring you for a casket is a remarkable motivator but didn't stop Rio from blowing a kiss to her "Mi Negro Naughtiness". I know, I know; one day, Rio is just going to vanish without a trace.   "Ms. Reveal, I need an emergency meeting with the Vice Chancellor," Ms. Black requested of Doctor Scarlett's personal assistant. Ms. Reveal didn't miss Gabrielle keeping her distance from me. She did make the call and I noticed the pictures of Ms. Mittens were still in evidence.   "Who are you inside that suit?" Ms. Reveal asked me.   I guess she assumed I wasn't a real baby Sasquatch; I was really a baby Sasquatch disguised as a half-baked marshmallow. If three geeks and a man working beneath his means jump out at me with proton-packs, I am running for my life, which is to say 'I'm going to die.'   "This is Zane. He is not being rude, he can't speak," Ms. Black was kind enough to cover for me.   "Oh, I understand," Ms. Reveal nodded, but in such a way that expressed she didn't understand anything. "You two can go in now," she said several awkward seconds later.   "Zane, you move as close to Ms. Reveal's desk as you can while I get the door for you," Gabrielle instructed me. "Come in when I call for you."   I'm sure Marisol Reveal was curious as to why Gabrielle was dancing around me, trying to keep her distance. We almost made it; right as she made it to the doorway, Doctor Scarlett opened the door and attempted to see what the delay was. She was actually putting an award on a shelf she had just received, the reason she missed Assembly, if you find that suspicious, and was placing it on a shelf near the door.   Gabrielle responded as any slightly unbalanced killer would do; she spun around, pulled out her gun from the unseen Realm of the Gods of War, and pointed it at the stunned Victoria. That took her one half-step too close to me and my little fellas let the world know it. I will give them this much; they were still defending my eardrums.   By the way Marisol was holding her ears as her tears flowed down her face it must have been pure agony for her since I was right next to her. Gabrielle scoped up Victoria and sprinted into her office and they obediently shut up.   "Za-, Zane, what was that?" Marisol blathered. Since the furry meatball gone bad was still on my lips and I hadn't become that hungry, I kept my silence.   "Zane!" Gabrielle called for me. I did my best to shrug but it wasn't like I had a neck anymore so I don't know what she made of my movement. I shuffled to the door and got a few good squeaks as I moved inside. I was more than a little disturbed by the reaction I received from Doctor Scarlett when she saw me from her seat behind her desk. She looked at me and I swear, hand to my heart, she had an orgasm.   "You are covered in Tribbles," she gasped. I had no fucking clue what a Tribble is but apparently, I was in the vast minority. I staggered forward and since Gabrielle was on the right side of the room, I angled to the left. I move halfway around Doctor Scarlett's desk so that Gabrielle could go close the door, where she took up post and, from what happened next engaged a Romulan Cloaking Device, whatever the Muggle-tech that is.   Victoria was in some sort of dream-like trance. When she started stumbling around the desk toward me, I waited for the musical assault that never came. To my credit, I caught on in a second. If these creatures existed, singing wasn't their normal activity, and Cordelia wanted these little 'Squeaky Meals' to be as real as possible, for Victoria. I was nothing but bait.   Victoria reached out to caress the same one Christina had placed over my heart. The little bugger cooed and Victoria clamped her thighs together to contain another orgasm that coursed through her loins. Cool, all I have to do to feel the wonders of Victoria Scarlett is dress myself in furry grapefruit. I'm kicking myself for not seeing this obvious ploy.   She touches more and each makes a subtly different purr of pleasure. This goes on and on until she's cuddled up against me, her arms stroking over my back and rubbing her left leg up and down mine.   "Vice Chancellor, you do realize Zane Braxton is TRAPPED inside those, contraptions," Gabrielle sounds the slightest bit peeved.   The troops all make those little high-pitched notes of longing as Victoria retreats a few steps, bringing Victoria almost to the point where she launches herself back into me to comfort her little friends. I am second fiddle to a discombobulated guinea pig; sometimes a man can feel pretty small.   "Okay. How did this happen to you, Zane?" Victoria asked.   "He cannot talk; one of those Tribbles is attached to his lips," Black stated, "by an unknown force. Before you ask; I am not an engineer or chemist." Victoria made this adorable little 'o' expression, then reached for an offending Tribble.   "It hurts him to remove them," Gabrielle got out just in time.   "Does it hurt the Tribble?" Victoria inquired. Gee, thanks, Vic.   "Hold your ears," Gabrielle commanded. Well, I couldn't comply, and Victoria had only started to scream 'stop' when Gabrielle materialized a knife and speared 'Diddley-boo' off my shoulder.   I heard the little guy's death wail, then his death rattle, as Gabrielle pulled him/her away until she was out of screaming range. Diddley-boo? No, I have no idea what his/her name really was but I'm going to have ICE check his immigration status when all of this is over, wait, I can't do that; Gabrielle wacked the little snot and giving her up to the Feds is a great way to create many widows and orphans. Diddley-boo was still twitching erratically while Victoria was stuck between ecstasy and horror.   "You are a Klingon agent!" Victoria gasped as she pointed an accusatory finger at Gabrielle. I am vaguely aware that they are the stock-villains of Star Trek Universe and this odd snapshot of rightly tight, athletic buns in tighter pants, but the reference memory for the scene escapes me. By the facial reaction Gabrielle gives, Victoria just called candy sweet, or jalapenos hot; she appreciates the comparison.   All the surviving members of the Tribble tribe wept a cacophony of pain and loss. I would have had more sympathy if their moans had not been vibrating my body like a jello mold.   "Romulan," Gabrielle countered; the other stock Trekkie villains, but they have better teeth. First amongst our Honored Dead, DB hardly quivers as Ms. Black dissects it.   It bleeds/oozes and appears to be a living organism of some kind, but Gabrielle points to several electronic devices, a CPU, and wires connecting all kinds of things inside the organic body.   "It is an organic husk over a sensory/auditory device," Gabrielle tried to explain.   "Oh, my God," Victoria's mind worked feverish to defy reality, "they've been turned into Borgs."   She tore the one attached to my lips off. I didn't cry like a televangelist publicly begging God for forgiveness for a moment, or 147 moments, of weakness with a rather sad-looking prostitute, but that was coming.   You see, Victoria gripped her weeping diminutive fuzzy engine of humiliation tightly when she yanked it off, so she let go of it because the little blighter sounded hurt.   It gave off a more muted and mournful 'wee' as it smacked into the corner of my mouth. I was able to dodge a direct hit.   "Scarlett," Gabrielle seethed, "if, you, would, listen, for, a, moment; they are painful to be removed from his flesh and they will attempt to reattach themselves to him if they are brought within one foot. I have no idea why."   "Zane, are you in much pain?" Doctor Scarlett inquired while scanning my body fungi.   "Yes, but I'm sure if you kick me in the nuts, I'll feel better," I mumbled through a joke.   "I can't do that," Victoria gasped. "You have Tribbles down there." Yes, I feel special.   "That's it," Gabrielle snapped. "I'm going to get help." She spun around and breezed out the door, slamming it in her wake.   "Thanks for abandoning me, Gabby," I shouted as loud as I was able. "It's not like Vic's totally lost her mind or anything like that."   "I have not lost my mind," Victoria responded with a deceptively calm, soothing tone. She reinforced my calm by locking the door, then locking in the deadbolt, yes, I felt much safer.   My merry band of orphan coconuts helped things along the cliffs of sanity by cooing and 'talking' to Victoria as she walked around the office, and she gaily responded to them.   "Ms. Reveal, this is going to be a difficult intervention. Inform me when lunch time gets here," Victoria communicated to her assistant, then added, "I need a box of outdoor trash bags; leave them at the door."   Having a hot lady like Victoria Scarlett lock the door and asking for almost 3 hours of 'alone' time with me is a mature pipe dream of mine, and that dream really meets a bloody end when she asks for roughly 30 bags with a fifty-gallon capacity each. If she pulls out a hacksaw or a 'cow-stunner,' I'm racing for the window behind the Doc's desk. I'll be gone in 90 seconds, sort of like an inexpensive microwave dinner.   Doctor Scarlett returned to her desk, turned her spy-cam around, and started making calls. I honestly maintained a miniscule hope that she might still help me. She was talking curtly to another doctor whose name I didn't recognize. What came out of her mouth next sounded like a combination of eating raw meat all your life and gargling with sand regularly; add to that an inflection of someone wanting to kick elementary kids into the paths of oncoming busses and you had the language she was using.   Victoria's stance even changed. She thrust out her chest, put her hands on her hips, and a predatory sneer took up permanent residency on her lips. She even beat on her desk hard during this little exchange before laughing in a way that made kittens piss on themselves before you hung them.   "Vice Chancellor, Doctor Victoria Scarlett, umm, what's going on?" I said careful.   I'm not so much terrified of Victoria at this point, as I am suspicious of my ability to fight at the moment.   "Everything is fine, Zane," Victoria assured me. "In essence, I am bringing in some experts in the field. You can trust me on this; we've been expecting contact like this for years." Huh?   "So, ah, that was an Albanian Biologist?" I hoped.   "No, that was Vor' Dura, Flight Leader of the Blood Quasar Fleet of the Klingon Empire," Victoria explained sedately, in the same way any SANE individual described a Navy Commander. She turned her computer screen so I could see the person's profile pic.   "How does she breathe in that thing?" I wondered. "That's one hell of a corset."   "That isn't a corset, Zane, its body armor. My suit was created by the same armorer," she stated.   "You have something like that?" I boggled.   "Yes, the precise same suit. Vor' Dura is not as blessed by her bloodlines, she's shorter, but otherwise, we are identical; our alliance ended recently and soon she must face me in ritual combat; yield or die." 'Yield or die' isn't what is centermost in my mind.   "Don't your boobs ever pop out of that thing?" Because if you have been paying any attention; I am an idiot where sex is even a remote possibility. Victoria can't meet my gaze but turns as red as her namesake.   "On a few occasions," she confessed. I'm thinking 'a few'. "Now I have a few more calls to make."   Yes, she's lost her ever-loving mind, and I have no reasonable expectation of exit or rescue. I won't be able to get up enough speed to bust out of the window so being on the first floor is meaningless. She has the deadbolt key and when I stack up my Tribbles against her Science Fiction fanaticism, I lose. She turns the monitor around and makes her next call. This one starts with the victory salute, but the one done with two fingers to each side.   "Excellent news," Vicky declares. "We have confirmation of the temporal events from Deep Space Nine. I have compelling data that I have encountered genetic derivatives of the dominant herbivorous life forms of Iota Geminorum IV." And everything went to turkey-based insanity after that. Again, they spoke rapidly in a language I knew nothing about. They acted like giddy little schoolgirls, just schoolgirls with their emotions surgically removed.   The final call went much same way except that this time, the tone of the language was like the second but with the taint of a sleazy pimp or grifter thinking she was a mob boss. These were the kinds of girls you never let babysit your kids if you ever wanted to see them again. The way Vic looked at me and the fellas made me worry about how long I could last in her brothel and inspired an unexpected sympathy for these pests.   "Zane, do you promise to stay here while I, umm, get some, umm outfits?" Victoria requests respectfully. She realizes she's asking me a bizarre favor. Balthazar's Balls, I've been tied to a cross; how much worse can this be? She scoots up to me, kisses me chastely on the lips and waits.   "It is a given that my morning class schedule is toast, and I'm no stranger to the entertainment industry so knock yourself out," I allow, but I will have to pee at some time."   "Check; I'll stop by the infirmary and get a catheter," she nods, then she kisses me lightly on the lips once more. "Thank you for this, Zane."   She's off like a shot but is careful enough to get the deadbolt on the way out. Since I doubt Ms. Reveal can get a fire-axe through the door if the building catches fire, my buddies and I really are going to experience total protonic reversal on a life-ending scale. Only now does it occur to me that these fuzzy navels might have toxic side effects.   I'm waiting around for God-knows how long when I hear some muffled noises, more muffled than having a Tribble in my ear.   Scratch, scratch, "Girl, you get away from that door," Ms. Reveal shouted (I guess).   "Quick, Mercy, hold her back," Rio shouted in response. "This deadbolt is a bitch."   A scuffle ensued and I tried to shout loud enough to call Rio off when I heard two rapid-fire thumps.   "Thank you, Ms. Black," Marisol Reveal huffed. Mercy had put up quite a fight, I guessed. "I will formally press charges when the Vice Chancellor returns."   "You will go and sit your ass behind your desk, you incompetent buffoon," Black snapped. "I will deal with this and if you bother me again today, or mention this incident to Scarlett, I swear you will never see your cat again; and if you don't hop-to in the next six seconds, I'll make an audio recording of me strangling that shit-dumper and play it by your bedroom window every night until you go mad. Do I make myself clear?"   "Ugh," is all I make out, but I hear Marisol's chair squeak soon after. The sound of a body, or bodies, being drug off faded away as Black left the office and headed down the hall. Hell, I warned Marisol. I can't do anything for Rio right now and I don't have too long to ruminate.   "Marisol, are you okay?" I hear Victoria ask her assistant. It is a testament to their bond that even the hysterical Doctor doesn't miss her friend's distress.   "Sorry, Victoria, I'm a bit, umm, heart-sick is all," Marisol murmurs. "Don't you worry about it."   "Well, when you want to talk about it, let me know," Victoria stated. Marisol must have nodded because no words were spoken and Victoria came in with two carry-on bags and three dress bags while kicking the trash bag box ahead of her. Happy fun time was about to begin.   "Sorry for the wait, Zane," Victoria told me.   "Doctor," I made a desperate Hail Mary plea for reason, "you are a highly respected educator. We really need to take a step back and re-examine what's going on here."   "Zane, this is my first teaching job ever," she related as she checked on the progress of her 'Trekkie' Posse.   "My doctorate is in Philosophy; my Master's Degrees are in Comparative Religions and Women's Studies," she informed me. "All my graduate work was done as a researcher. I've never had a student." I blink dumbly at her; and here I thought my opinion of the Board of Directors couldn't get worse.   Victoria goes over the language dance with her friends, switching fluidly from tongue to tongue in a manner that impresses and even fascinates me; and I've been to Bangkok where if you are trying to buy and/or sell anything and don't speak at least ten different languages or dialects, you might as well hand them your wallet or purse and go home. "Who do we need?" Vic said in English (just making sure everyone knows that the Tribbles aren't suddenly translating for me).   "Kar'Thon," Vor' Dura states eagerly; "This matter is a racial imperative."   "Are you sure the young man is old enough?" The second woman inquired. "Jarrod went all obsessive last time a boy crossed our path. We almost sent the kid to college."   "That's what you get for marrying a Ferengi," Dura snidely remarked, and the rest laughed along with it; meanwhile, I'm going 'a what?'   Some infighting goes on until Victoria and 'I married a Ferengi' call for peace, then babble a little more. Then the name 'Zane Braxton' comes up and I'm not sure I'm happy or sad that only one of them replies in what was clearly elation and surprise, the sleazy one knows of me.   "Zane, I need to surgically remove some of the alien organisms," Victoria tells me.   "It is going to sting like hell," I mutter, to which Vor' Dura says something and sleazy girl laughs. I do not like where this is going at all. On the bright side, Victoria doesn't rip one off of me right away; she goes over to one of the dress bags and opens it up.   She's pulling out bondage gear, oops, my bad; she's getting ready to put on Klingon body armor. I have lost all preconceptions of what I was dealing with once Scarlett began stripping in front of me. She even gave me an appreciative smile and I was the one who was doing the appreciating! The little fuckers started going off. Remember, they don't like being moved and I was moving some around at the moment.   No, my legs and arms were perfectly still but my crotch was striking up a chorus, its Handel's Messiah. There was this 'still' moment where Victoria stopped opening her blouse and the three strangers regarding me through the webcam became mute; then the laughter began. Victoria resumed her stripping but she couldn't stop smiling and snickering slightly.   The three, the Klingon uber-cook or whatever she was and her two unknown accomplices, were laughing so hard they could barely communicate. It got better; when I was fully aroused and stopped moving around my pants, they didn't shut up and I was suddenly, desperately searching my mind to know how long that song was.   This was because Vic got down to her, Oh, fuck, this white thong, and calling it white is generous as it looks like someone stole an under-achieving spider's web and gently placed it over her crotch, and I know my hard-on was not going anywhere but into something before it went away.   Victoria was working her make-up on when two of the voices got themselves together enough to ask something. Vic looked up at the web-cam, over to me, then said a few sentences.   "So, which one of you likes your ankles placed behind your ears?" I politely asked in Thai.   "What was that, Brax' Zane?" Victoria asked.   "I'm curious if I can take your virginity with my tongue?" I continued in Thai.   "I cannot understand you," Victoria said again. "What are, ah, "   "I think we should engage the Federation citizen in the Galactic Basic," the second voice requested of the room. The third voice, the sleaze, said one more then in her native tongue, then the second voice, and Victoria jumped on her.   "I said, 'I think the native is getting restless'," sleazy girl grudgingly repeated. "Now, I think we should see if our plan 1.0 can be implemented."   "Before the scourges make themselves hoarse shrilling out the hellish noise or I lose patience, transport over there, and kill them myself," Dura growled playfully. I'm glad someone else was having fun. Victoria walked up and took a deep breath, which caused her well-disciplined, thirty-ish breasts to bounce tantalizingly close. Her look was desperately fearful yet almost childlike too.   "Kar'Thon, I desperately require your assistance before these creatures drive me mad," I tried to sound masculine yet pleading. On the computer screen, Dura quickly slammed her right fist to her right shoulder; I was later to learn that was a salute.   "This is no way for a Starfleet cadet to die," Victoria beamed at me, "even if I know I must someday slaughter you in battle." Whoa, I've never considered NASA as a career choice.   Maybe Klingon bondage gear/standard uniform could change my mind. The first person to tell me university life is boring I will punt to the Moon.   "I am T'Luminareth of the Vulcan Science Academy and Reserve member of the Starfleet Exploration Corps here," the second voice spoke up. I caught sight of a picture of her with this, troll? Or maybe a dwarf with the worst case of cauliflower ear ever. "I would like to assure you that every logical effort is being put forth on your behalf."   "Is that right, Tight Luminescence? Is it going to kill you to show a fellow sentient an ounce of compassion when you know he is about to suffer a fatal toxic shock from prolonged exposure to these vermin?" the third girl snarkily interjected into the conversation. "I'm Hical Cretak, Romulan freebooter and purveyor of ancient, exotic, and misunderstood goods."   "You are a thief, and since you aren't in some asteroid prison, you must be an above average one," I said to the Romulan. "I confess that I am a bit happier to see a member of the Vulcan Science Academy since, well, I'm suffering a splintered memory. Some things make perfect sense but large details are simply missing." I figured I could provide Victoria some good game.   She began rubbing my crotch and there was an effect alright, two in fact. The simple and expectant one was my trouser titan trying to unchain itself so it could get revenge on all of Victoria's orifices for taunting him so. My torturous tiny titmice began belting 'Let's get it on' by Marvin Gaye. I think as an infant, I had a mobile playing this song in my crib.   I started to really admire T'Luminareth's acting ability because she alone kept it together. Victoria made larger and larger circles over my crotch up to my beltline while Dura and Hical lost it hysterically.   "Pssst," I murmured to Victoria. She looked at me and I darted my eyes toward her makeup kit and clothes. I am getting more clothes on her, why?   Besides, I'd gotten a better look at her suit and it didn't have a butt-zipper that said 'Come Get Some,' but those pants rolled down like a candy wrapper and that 'body armor' has a back flap. I'd have to get Rio a set and I doubted Victoria would deny me her armorer's number. I was definitely looking into getting Mercy a matching Orion Slave Girl outfit, and here people don't think I make constructive use of my time.   I was sure Victoria/Kar'Thon was breaking speed records to get herself ready while the other ladies began talking to me about a whole universe that was brand new to me. Getting three different and very conflicting versions of the rise of the Human-dominated Federation of Planets was amusing.   Out of the blue, T'Luminareth decided she was going to create a team to rapidly move to my planet and take me back for further study. Vor' Dora countered that and Hical gleefully sought out salvage rights for the wreckage of the two expeditions.   "That might not be possible," I intervened. "Some of what you've told me has fused some memories together." They all fell silent.   "At Starfleet Academy, an Engineering Team and a select group of cadets," I continued to fantasize, "were directed to work on a, phased ionic drive." Ion drive was 'old' tech, or so Hical had let slip. "The drive failed catastrophically and we couldn't save the impulse drive, power was failing, we couldn't transport. The phased ionic drive detonated in the planet's atmosphere, creating a trans-harmonic disruption. I don't know if there were other survivors of our vessel. I saw another vessel either investigating our explosion or attempting a rescue but they burned up on their approach," I looked pained. "I don't think I could communicate with them and the only survivor I could locate was Kar'Thon."   "Only a combination of our two vessels' technology has been able to punch a hole through the disruption and I'm not sure how long this effect will last." I now sounded grim but determined. "We probably need three things: We need to know if there were any special modifications to the Klingon Scout vessel because I don't think it was a standard model to get so close to an experimental Federation vessel."   "Secondly, someone needs to pry out of Starfleet the precise specifications of that vessel, and that's definitely not me," I confessed. "Finally, we need to find a way to fuse those two designs together because if Tribbles are already being affected by an increased magnetic field, how much longer do we have before even the planet's magnetic field collapses totally and we fry (a SciFi movie plot, thank you)."   Once more, there was silence and I was afraid I'd stepped way beyond my bounds. Only when I took in the masked facial expressions of Kar'Thon did I realize I'd done well. I was hit with the realization I was a word and a whisper away from having sex with her, she was so pleased with me.   "I have friends at Starfleet Academy and they might be able to shed a light on what their cadets were up to," T'Luminareth stated serenely, but I could see a fire in her eyes. "I will research into every work published on Phased Ionic Drives, and we may be forced to work on a theory of what went wrong in case Starfleet is not forthcoming."   "Not that I admit that the Klingon Empire ever had any such vessel operating in the area, Vor' Dura got out before Hical Cretak interrupted.   "You have an officer on the damn planet, you cowardly idiot," mocked Hical.   "I am a deserter," Kar'Thon declared. "I would say I was a 'scum of the Orion Colonies' but I found that you already claimed that title," she aimed at Hical.   "You must die, you traitorous dog," Dura jumped on the offered plum. Thon/Victoria wasn't a deserter but she was ready to take one for the team, so to speak. "The Klingon Empire cannot allow your stain on our honor to exist. Now that we finally have you pinned down, we are coming to end you once and for all, and if the Federation insists on harboring a traitor (we were theoretically in Federation space) then,   "I owe you a death, Vor' Dura," Thon seethed; "your death."   "You may not enter Federation space," T'Luminareth insisted.   "Before you two go to war, again, why don't you let me go in," Hical mediated. "I'm a free trader and have been to both Federation and Klingon planets."   "You are a spy," Vor' Dura growled.   "Being a successful agent doesn't make you any less of spy for your Romulan Senate," T'Luminareth seemed almost furious.   "Unfounded rumors started by my, Hical almost finished before the Tribbles screamed. Not as loud as they had for Ms. Black, but they now didn't like Thon around either, now that Victoria was a Klingon. Cordelia scares me; this time Hical had the little 'hiccup'.   "This is going to be fun," she chuckled, barely above a whisper.   "I will get these vermin no matter how much they hurt the frail human," Kar'Thon snarled, but Victoria's eyes blazed with fanatic amusement. I was mildly curious if she could even respond to her true name but decided not to test that. She pulled out a rather wicked looking knife that I had to double-take to make sure it was plastic.   The conversation went on around us as fictitious bits of data collided with innuendo, falsehoods, threats, and lies. This was roleplaying by some actors who took it as

The Liberals brag that their brand-new budget is big and bold. Opposition leaders have have some less-positive adjectives to describe it. And now a Conservative MP has left caucus over it. One of the big winners in today's federal budget is the Canadian military. We'll ask a defence analyst if this new financial attention compensates for what he feels were years of neglect.Kelowna is the first Canadian city to be named a UNESCO "Creative City of Gastronomy". The head of a First Nation pushed for the title -- and says he's savouring the success. A journalist who wrote several books about the late Dick Cheney reflects on how the most powerful Vice President in American history wanted to be remembered -- and how he'll actually be remembered. The next stop on this week's Hometown series is Vulcan, Alberta -- where they leaned in to their inadvertent "Star Trek" connection, sat back, and watched the Spocks fly.Scientists have finally discovered precisely how mosquitoes court and have sex -- and all it took was staring at close-up footage, frame by frame, in agonizing slow motion, for literally hundreds of hours.As It Happens, the Tuesday Edition. Radio that's proud to announce: no more guess-ti-mating!

Today's guest, Robert Miller, brings a rare 360° GovCon perspective—15 years in government (Peace Corps → Capitol Hill → White House → CIA) followed by eight years in defense tech and AI sales. Rob led federal sales at Hawkeye 360 and CrowdAI (acquired in 2023) and now oversees $75M ARR across three divisions at a major defense contractor. In this episode, we break down how startups can truly win in federal: navigating product-market fit, cost-to-close, and working with large primes; using tools like SAM.gov, ARC, and Vulcan; and building mission-driven teams and Hill relationships. Rob also shares insights from his book Startup Statesmanship, a hands-on guide for founders entering GovCon. Key Takeaways Focus your ICP and go deep. Pick a tight segment + ideal customer profile and build depth (relationships, use-cases) before expanding. Master the economics. Rigor on cost-to-close and delivery—especially on firm-fixed-price R&D—wins or loses your margin in scoping. Protect your IP with primes. Use NDAs and teaming terms (workshare/rev-share), and share only what's necessary to win—not to be cloned. Join the Bootcamp: https://govcongiants.org/bootcamp Learn more: https://federalhelpcenter.com/ https://govcongiants.org/  Encore Funding: https://www.encore-funding.com/ 

Before "merch" was a mainstream business, Star Trek fandom had Lincoln Enterprises—and behind the scenes was a small, tight-knit team led by Majel Barrett Roddenberry. This week, The Trek Files welcomes Reinelda Estupinian, who started as Rod Roddenberry's nanny in 1974 and later worked directly with Majel beginning in 1980. Reina shares stories from the early convention circuit: selling scripts, collectibles, and Vulcan jewelry to devoted fans while keeping pace with the growing Trek phenomenon. She also reflects on Majel as both a businesswoman and a "force of nature," balancing humor, strength, and an unapologetically bold personality (sometimes delightfully embarrassing to those around her). From Gene Roddenberry's declining health to Majel's final convention appearance in 2008, Reina offers rare, heartfelt insight into the personal and professional lives behind the Roddenberry legacy.

SCREAM QUEEN JOLENE? Bryan is joined by actor-producer Curtis Fortier, creator of the web series 12 Sided Die, to engage with Star Trek's first non-Borg zombie story involving Captain Archer, T'Pol, and a ship of zombified Vulcans. Is this side quest in the Hunt for the Xindi season of Enterprise a TREK, MARRY, or KILL? The grades begin at (32:50). Check out 12 Sided Die here: https://12sideddie.com/ And their Season 2 Kickstarter here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/12sideddieseason2/12-sided-die-season-2/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Before "merch" was a mainstream business, Star Trek fandom had Lincoln Enterprises—and behind the scenes was a small, tight-knit team led by Majel Barrett Roddenberry. This week, The Trek Files welcomes Reinelda Estupinian, who started as Rod Roddenberry's nanny in 1974 and later worked directly with Majel beginning in 1980. Reina shares stories from the early convention circuit: selling scripts, collectibles, and Vulcan jewelry to devoted fans while keeping pace with the growing Trek phenomenon. She also reflects on Majel as both a businesswoman and a "force of nature," balancing humor, strength, and an unapologetically bold personality (sometimes delightfully embarrassing to those around her). From Gene Roddenberry's declining health to Majel's final convention appearance in 2008, Reina offers rare, heartfelt insight into the personal and professional lives behind the Roddenberry legacy.

Before "merch" was a mainstream business, Star Trek fandom had Lincoln Enterprises—and behind the scenes was a small, tight-knit team led by Majel Barrett Roddenberry. This week, The Trek Files welcomes Reinelda Estupinian, who started as Rod Roddenberry's nanny in 1974 and later worked directly with Majel beginning in 1980. Reina shares stories from the early convention circuit: selling scripts, collectibles, and Vulcan jewelry to devoted fans while keeping pace with the growing Trek phenomenon. She also reflects on Majel as both a businesswoman and a "force of nature," balancing humor, strength, and an unapologetically bold personality (sometimes delightfully embarrassing to those around her). From Gene Roddenberry's declining health to Majel's final convention appearance in 2008, Reina offers rare, heartfelt insight into the personal and professional lives behind the Roddenberry legacy.

Picard and Beverly sitting in a tree, not really K. I. S. S. I. N. G. There's a planet of spies trying to join the Federation, one side is on board, the other is super xenophobic. Picard and Beverly get snatched from the transporter room after a Vulcan breakfast. After being attached - get it, that's the title! - via a psychic implant, they start to talk about their feelings long repressed. Including love and admiration. Sadly, the fire does not ignite beyond the campfire, leaving Jimmie with 4.5 pairs of blue balls. We discuss! In depth! Enjoy!   Please send us any thoughts on the series to LetsReEngage@gmail.com or on Bluesky, Greg's social media of choice. Get in touch with us on BlueSky @ReEngageTNG.bsky.social!    Host: Greg Tito (Gregtito.com, @GregTito on Bluesky, @greg_tito on IG)  Panel: Erik Curry (@erikfallsdown on Twitter & IG) , Kate Jaeger (@jaegerlicious on Twitter and IG) , and Jimmie G (@thejimmieg on IG & Twitter) Audio Editor: Greg Tito (Gregtito.com, @GregTito on Bluesky, @greg_tito on IG) Logo artwork: @mojojojo_97 on Twitter, mojo97.com Theme music: Ryan Marth   Next up is s7e9 "Force of Nature" hosted by Jimmie!

Season 9 of Big Conversations, Little Bar with Patrick Evans and Randy Florence debuts with actress Stephanie Czajkowski, whose turn as a Vulcan on Star Trek: Picard sparked a fandom embrace as fierce as her resilience. She opens up about discovering multiple cancers, the grit, humor, and partnership that carried her through surgery, chemo, radiation, and life after. We talk Coachella Valley roots, a lip-sync win that brought her into the community, and why being present beats chasing perfection. Stephanie also previews “Best Intentions,” her darkly funny short about navigating everyone's “helpful” reactions at work, plus a larger vision for stories about living with illness—not just fighting it. From early theater dreams in the Midwest to building a career on shows like Doom Patrol and MacGruber, she shares how shaving her head, letting go of fear, and doing the job opened surprising doors. A candid, compassionate Season 9 opener about creativity, advocacy, and finding light in tough places. along the way.Takeaways:Season 9 launches with a raw, funny, and fearless conversation.Stephanie's Star Trek: Picard role (a partly Delton Vulcan) became a fan-favorite moment.Multiple cancer diagnoses reshaped her outlook without dimming her drive.Advocacy tip: track your labs, ask questions, and trust body signals.Community matters—Palm Desert roots and a lip-sync win deepened local ties.Creative pivot: writing/directing the dark comedy short “Best Intentions.”Career insight: drop perfection, do the work, and opportunities follow.Living with illness isn't only tragedy—there's humor, humanity, and hope.#BigConversationsLittleBarPodcast #PatrickEvans #RandyFlorence #SkipsLittleBar #MutualBroadcastingSystem #CoachellaValleyResidents #SkipPaige #McCallumTheatre #StephanieCzajkowski #StarTrekPicard #Season9Debut #PalmDesert #PodcastInterview #CancerSurvivor #BreastCancerAwareness #ActorLife #DoomPatrol #MacGruber #Vulcan #BestIntentions

Connor Trinneer and Dominic Keating watch Star Trek: Enterprise's "Fallen Hero". It's a harrowing battle to Warp 5 as the ship takes on a disgraced Vulcan diplomat who (surprise, surprise) is hiding something from her human defenders. If they can get through this, a new chapter in human-Vulcan relations awaits...Each week, we explore and celebrate the lives that the Star Trek universe has forever changed. From former and future cast and crew members to celebrities, scientists, and astronauts whose personal and professional journeys have been affected by the franchise, we sit down and dive deep with a new friend, laughing and learning from their stories. Sit back, grab a drink, and join our hosts, Dominic Keating and Connor Trinneer, as we get geeky in The D-Con Chamber.Let's get social! -

The new space race is beginning; It's not just between nations, but between commercial giants, shadow governments, and emerging players staking claims to orbits that are becoming dangerously crowded. The world is entering an era where control of the orbits will define global power.   What's fueling this revolution isn't just rocket science. It's economic scale, exotic propellants, and a surge in miniaturized, high-functioning satellites. But with this explosion comes risk: orbital debris fields, collisions that could cripple constellations, and the looming specter of space warfare.   In this replay episode, Tory Bruno, CEO of United Launch Alliance—the man behind one of the most ambitious launch companies—joins me on The Aerospace Executive Podcast. He brings unparalleled insight into what's next in space—from transforming ULA away from the use of Russian engines to pioneering modular rockets designed for both commercial and defense missions, he has done it all!   We cover the radical shifts reshaping orbital real estate, why small launch companies are failing despite demand, and why directed energy weapons in space might be the future of global defense.   You'll also learn:   Why the true space cost revolution isn't in launch, but in satellite architecture The hard truth about the “300% drop in launch prices” myth How mini satellites are creating billion-dollar constellations and traffic jams in orbit The quiet arms race: Anti-satellite weapons, Kessler syndrome, and debris fields that could end entire constellations Why lasers may be the only real answer to hypersonic threats Why methane propulsion is suddenly viable and what finally cracked the code Why the biggest competitive edge isn't rockets, it's people Guest Bio Tory Bruno is the President and CEO of United Launch Alliance (ULA), the largest rocket launch company in the world. Since taking the helm in August 2014, he has led ULA through a transformative era, retiring legacy systems, developing the next-generation Vulcan rocket, and expanding the company's commercial and national security portfolio. Before ULA, Tory spent over three decades at Lockheed Martin, where he began his career as a propulsion engineer and steadily rose through the ranks to become a senior executive. He has deep expertise in advanced propulsion, hypersonics, missile defense, and launch systems, and is widely recognized as one of the aerospace industry's most accomplished and forward-thinking leaders. Connect with Tory on LinkedIn. About Your Host Craig Picken is an Executive Recruiter, writer, speaker and ICF Trained Executive Coach. He is focused on recruiting senior-level leadership, sales, and operations executives in the aviation and aerospace industry. His clients include premier OEMs, aircraft operators, leasing/financial organizations, and Maintenance/Repair/Overhaul (MRO) providers and since 2008, he has personally concluded more than 400 executive-level searches in a variety of disciplines. Craig is the ONLY industry executive recruiter who has professionally flown airplanes, sold airplanes, and successfully run a P&L in the aviation industry. His professional career started with a passion for airplanes. After eight years experience as a decorated Naval Flight Officer – with more than 100 combat missions, 2,000 hours of flight time, and 325 aircraft carrier landings – Craig sought challenges in business aviation, where he spent more than 7 years in sales with both Gulfstream Aircraft and Bombardier Business Aircraft. Craig is also a sought-after industry speaker who has presented at Corporate Jet Investor, International Aviation Women's Association, and SOCAL Aviation Association.    Check out this episode on our website, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, and don't forget to leave a review if you like what you heard. Your review feeds the algorithm so our show reaches more people. Thank you! 

This week, we're on a second contact mission, revisiting Star Trek: Enterprise Season 2, Episode 15 “Cease Fire,” now that Jamie, Bill, and Maria have watched it. Joining us this week to discuss this episode is Elaine from the Monkeeing Around podcast A word of warning: If you haven't listened to the episode before this […] The post EnterpriseSplaining 58: Second Contact: Vulcans Have No Balls! appeared first on The ESO Network.

Hier die ShownotesAlles außer X: Mit Openvibe reicht eine App, um bei vier Kurznachrichtendienst-Alternativen gleichzeitig aktiv zu sein. WasNutzerinnen und Nutzer genau erwartet. https://www.teltarif.de/nr7a/nr8/openvibe-app-socialmedia-mastodon-bluesky/news/99986.htmlQuelle: WinFuturehttps://search.app/kuspohttps://www.techbook.de/smart-home/amazon-neuheiten-alexa#?cleverPushBounceUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.techbook.de%2F&cleverPushNotificationId=yk7o9NYTSDjfMBnKG-1Von wegen nur Gummibären: Haribo verkauft jetzt auch Elektronikgeräte – CHIP https://share.google/XMBZ6ZFgFUbZnSFKAZerobrain hat s getestet und zerlegthttps://youtu.be/xT_t5nvFcoY?si=TKQ1o62EhVLc1DHKQuelle: Computer Bildhttps://search.app/8pwhXhttps://www.radio8.de/dombuehl-hoffnung-auf-weitere-bahnreaktivierung-443946/https://search.app/jrrQTSagen Sie Tschüss zu USB-Sticks: Diese Alternativen sind einfach besser – PC-WELT https://share.google/xbvcmi0Vb9SekKskMhttps://www.reisereporter.de/reiseziele/lost-places/deutschlands-vergessene-autobahn-warum-die-strecke-46-zum-lost-place-wurde-5PQ7TP6275GFDHRH35UWCTZTTY.htmlQuelle: Business Insider Deutschlandhttps://search.app/yvK5SIn diesen 5 fränkischen Städten wollen unsere Leser auf keinen Fall wohnen https://share.google/opxgnqf6oDcDajkPHZwischenstand bei der Migration zu Open Source in Schleswig-Holstein | heise online https://share.google/mDopJO33gOEVPMivIQuelle: FAZhttps://search.app/jsrT2Quelle: WinFuturehttps://search.app/EnkWpQuelle: Ostthüringer Zeitunghttps://search.app/r4FQvhttps://stadt-bremerhaven.de/chatkontrolle-in-der-eu-signal-threema-und-whatsapp-sind-klar-dagegen/Für die letzte Vulcan geht das Geld aus: Ex-Atombomber braucht Spenden https://share.google/rGiP66rQ4GKUvqtbTQuelle: Caschys Bloghttps://search.app/pGZPXExpansion: Deutscher Mittelstand wird zum Übernahmeziel für Firmen aus Osteuropa https://share.google/Pqj2KiT7z4HIdGSPohttps://www.heise.de/news/40-Jahre-80386-Intels-wichtigstes-Produkt-10777680.htmlhttps://stadt-bremerhaven.de/revolut-schraenkt-krypto-funktionen-weiter-ein/https://stadt-bremerhaven.de/tiny-tiny-rss-entwickler-zieht-den-stecker/https://stadt-bremerhaven.de/tiny-tiny-rss-entwickler-zieht-den-stecker/https://stadt-bremerhaven.de/chatkontrolle-in-der-eu-signal-threema-und-whatsapp-sind-klar-dagegen/Für die letzte Vulcan geht das Geld aus: Ex-Atombomber braucht Spenden https://share.google/rGiP66rQ4GKUvqtbTQuelle: Caschys Bloghttps://search.app/pGZPXExpansion: Deutscher Mittelstand wird zum Übernahmeziel für Firmen aus Osteuropa https://share.google/Pqj2KiT7z4HIdGSPohttps://www.heise.de/news/40-Jahre-80386-Intels-wichtigstes-Produkt-10777680.htmlund von Ute Mündlein: https://reichepoet.blogspot.com/2019/05/das-ist-nicht-das-problem.html?m=0

It's wedding season! Anika and Liz are looking at some of Star Trek's key wedding episodes, beginning with the one that launched season 2 of The Original Series and rewrote a lot of people's brain chemistry: "Amok Time". And in typical "Antimatter Pod does it Antimatter Pod's way" fashion, we're gonna talk about ... how great it is for the Spock/Chapel ship.  Why we're doing a wedding series: we love weddings, and we love how they can be used as a characterisation and worldbuilding tool Vulcans secretly live for the drama It does not do to dwell on the science and evolution behind pon farr and we should not have tried Liz is very concerned for the wellbeing of asexual Vulcans There's a lot of orientalism in our first glimpse of Vulcans and their culture, and modern Trek hasn't really walked that back We don't appreciate William Shatner enough (William Shatner did not pay us to say this) It's actually quite possible that McCoy and Chapel have never spoken outside of work Strange New Worlds has destroyed this episode and also Spock as a character Vulcans: we are an advanced and sophisticated culture Also Vulcans: please do not ask about the child marriages Kirk's infatuation with T'Pau is very important to us

Welcome back to the Captain's Quadrant, where warp speed opinions meet photon torpedo-level takes! Today, Jason Roy Gaston and VHS Jase beam into the Kelvin timeline to dissect the third installment of the rebooted Star Trek franchise: Star Trek Beyond.If you enjoy the show please consider becoming a Patreon! Returning VHS JaseStar Trek Beyond boldly goes where Into Darkness stumbled. With Justin Lin at the helm and Simon Pegg co-writing, this entry trades convoluted villain reveals for classic Trek vibes: exploration, camaraderie, and a dash of philosophical musing. The Enterprise crew is stranded, the stakes are personal, and the villain Krall (Idris Elba) brings a gritty menace that feels earned.Chris Pine channels a more seasoned Kirk, balancing swagger with introspection.Zachary Quinto's Spock is emotionally layered, especially in scenes with Karl Urban's McCoy—who absolutely steals the show.Sofia Boutella's Jaylah is a breakout star, giving the franchise a fresh, fierce energy.Jason Roy Gaston notes: “This is the most ‘Star Trek' of the Kelvin movies—it's not trying to be Star Wars, it's trying to be Starfleet.”VHS Jase adds: “Jaylah is the MVP. She's got the attitude of a rogue and the heart of a Federation officer.”Lin's action chops shine in kinetic sequences, but it's the quieter moments—like Kirk's reflection on his father's legacy—that give this film warp core depth. The visuals are stunning, the score (with a killer Beastie Boys callback) pumps adrenaline, and the pacing never drags.Absolutely. Beyond feels like a love letter to The Original Series while still pushing the Kelvin timeline forward. It's not perfect—Krall's backstory could use more polish—but it's a thrilling, heartfelt ride.

This week we review Star Trek: The Animated Series S01E07 The Infinite Vulcan and S01E08 The Magick of Megas-Tu. We also review the Peacemaker season two finale S02E08 Full Nelson and Gen V S02E07 Hell Week.STAR TREK: Starfleet Academy Official Trailer (2026)Star Trek: Starfleet Academy | Stephen Colbert Announcement | Paramount+ (NYCC 2025)Season 4 Exclusive First Look | Star Trek: Strange New Worlds | NYCC 2025Marvel Television's Wonder Man | Official Trailer | Disney+Marvel Plants 2026 Flags for 'Daredevil,' 'X-Men '97,' and MoreApple TV Plus is being rebranded to… Apple TV | The VergeApple TV And Peacock Form Streaming Bundle Starting At $15 A MonthDrew Struzan, the King of the Movie Poster, Has DiedMovie poster legend Drew Struzan has passed away - Fantha Tracks | Daily Star Wars NewsDeadpool Star Ryan Reynolds Enlists a Real Tilly Norwood for New Mint Mobile Ad Amid AI Actress BacklashThe "Gen V" Season 2 Cast Plays What's in the Box? | IMDbKARATE KID: LEGENDS - New Trailer (HD)F1® The Movie | Main Trailer3D Movies Available on Apple Vision Pro - iT Guy Technologies

THIS VOYAGE, MARK A. ALTMAN (Pandora, The Librarians, 50 Year Mission), DAREN DOCHTERMAN (associate producer, STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE) & ASHLEY E. MILLER (writer, Thor, X-Men: First Class) welcome the team behind the ill-fated STAR TREK TV series, STAR TREK: PHASE II, to discuss the greatest "What If?" in all Trek history featuring story editor JON POVILL, Vulcan science officer, Xon, DAVID GAUTREAUX and assistant to the producers MICHELE BILLY POVILL as they spill the secrets on another TREK NOT TAKEN. DON'T MISS THE TREKSPERTS AT GALAXYCON ST. LOUIS, MILWAUKEE & COLUMBUS THIS FALL! FOR MORE INFORMATION, GO TO GALAXYCON.COM. **TREKSPERTS+ SUBSCRIBERS NOW GET COMMERCIAL FREE EPISODES ONE WEEK EARLY! SUBSCRIBE TODAY AT TREKSPERTSPLUS.COM****Join us on our new INGLORIOUS TREKSPERTS DISCORD Channel at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://discord.gg/7kgmJSExeh⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Rate and follow us on social media at:Blue Sky: @inglorioustrekspertsTwitter/X:@inglorioustrekFacebook:facebook.com/inglorioustrekspertsInstagram/Threads: @inglorioustrekspertsLearn all that is learnable about Star Trek in Mark A. Altman & Edward Gross' THE FIFTY-YEAR MISSION, available in hardcover, paperback, digital and audio from St. Maritn's Press. Follow Inglorious Treksperts at @inglorioustrek on Twitter, Facebook and at @inglorioustreksperts on Instagram and Blue Sky. And now follow the Treksperts Briefing Room at @trekspertsBR, an entirely separate Twitter & Instagram feed."Mark A. Altman is the world's foremost Trekspert" - Los Angeles Times

Episode 8: Romulans What happened to the Romulans between the events in Picard season 3 and Discovery season 3? Did Spock's legacy contribute to the Reunification efforts after his death? Why does Michael have Romulan bias? How many Vulcan or Romulan rituals have blended? Do you agree with President Rillik's tactics? Join Ashlyn and Rhianna as we discuss the Romulan episodes in Discovery! This is the eighth episode of the Romulan series, where Ashlyn and Rhianna talk about the Romulan episodes in every Star Trek show, discussing every Star Trek series. SPOILER WARNING: Discovery Next time, we'll jump ahead in time to discuss Discovery! DISCLAIMER: We do not own any of the rights to Star Trek or its affiliations. This content is for review only. Our intro and outro is by Jerry Goldsmith. Rule of Acquisition #21: “Never place friendship above profit.” Please check out our Patreon and donate any $1, $6, $10, or $20 per month to access exclusive episodes of trivia, documentary review, and reviews of every episode of The Animated Series, Lower Decks and the Short Treks. Head to https://www.patreon.com/thedurassisterspodcast for all this and more!

We're watching Star Trek: Enterprise Season 2, Episode 15 “Cease Fire,” but only our guest explainer Chuck from the Earth Station Trek podcast has actually watched the episode. The Vulcans and Andorians are at war over a small but strategically located planet. So, of course Captain Jonathan “the closest thing Starfleet has to an Ambassador” […] The post EnterpriseSplaining 57: Vulcans Have No Balls! appeared first on The ESO Network.

Why did an AI brand open an NYC coffee shop?... Claude's throwing shade at ChatGPT.China's cutting off rare earth metals to America… So Vulcan raised $65M for Made in USA ones.Gen Alpha's favorite brand is Buldak ramen noodles… but they're so spicy, they got banned.Plus, the hot new work perk?... A downpayment on a home.$AMZN $MP $SPYNEWSLETTER:https://tboypod.com/newsletter OUR 2ND SHOW:Want more business storytelling from us? Check our weekly deepdive show, The Best Idea Yet: The untold origin story of the products you're obsessed with. Listen for free to The Best Idea Yet: https://wondery.com/links/the-best-idea-yet/NEW LISTENERSFill out our 2 minute survey: https://qualtricsxm88y5r986q.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_dp1FDYiJgt6lHy6GET ON THE POD: Submit a shoutout or fact: https://tboypod.com/shoutouts SOCIALS:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tboypod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tboypodYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tboypod Linkedin (Nick): https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolas-martell/Linkedin (Jack): https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-crivici-kramer/Anything else: https://tboypod.com/ About Us: The daily pop-biz news show making today's top stories your business. Formerly known as Robinhood Snacks, The Best One Yet is hosted by Jack Crivici-Kramer & Nick Martell.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Send us a textIn this episode, Tyler and Jimmy talk about the latest drama in the pickleball world. They discuss the PPA that happened over the weekend in Virginia, each event and their thoughts on the results.They end with a Q+A from the fans. Let us know what we should cover on the pod in future episodes, thanks for following along!—————————Website: https://www.tylerloong.com/ pickleballcentral.com/?oid=9&affid=7919954 click here for Huge Savings at Pickleball Central: https://pickleballcentral.com/ Use Code "KOTC" for $100 Savings on C&D Pickleball Nets: https://bestpickleballnets.com/Use Code "KOTC" to save 10% on Modballs:https://modballs.4com/products/modballs Use Code "KOTC" for Big Savings on Vulcan Gear: https://vulcansportinggoods.com/pagesNEW KOTC DISCORD https://discord.com/invite/kNR65mBemfNEW KOTC CAMEOhttps://www.cameo.com/morekotcInstagram: Tyler's IG - @tyler.loong  Jimmy's IG - @jimmymiller_pbKOTC IG - @morekingofthecourt  Facebook: / tyler.loong   --0:00 Introduction 4:42 The Picklr6:21 Code ‘KOTC' for pickleball tournaments6:40 Cameo7:14 Pickleball Central 7:25 Flick Weights09:10 KOTC vs. Ava and Camilla 13:40 Dennis Drama 27:07 C&D Pickleball Nets 29:12 PPA Virginia Beach 57:22 Vulcan 58:58 PPA Virginia Beach Continued.. 1:19:58 Q+A

The surprising return of Ro Laren lures Sean back to the podcast to finally dish on Picard Season 3.  Ro SUPERFANS Barm and Kev also join the fun, as we discuss Picard actually feeling like Picard again, the silliness of Vulcan gangstas, what the new “jumping the shark” is, the possible return of the Crystalline Entity, Jonathan Frakes's first, best destiny, introduce our OnlyFans, and wonder what the heck is going on in the third episode of Mando Season 3.  It's as fun as when Ro Laren and Riker did it!

Episode 7: Romulans Is “Minefield” an homage to “Balance of Terror”? How different are the Romulan and Vulcan languages after all this time? Why would we not want Reunification in the Enterprise era? Why do the Romulans love team-ups so much? Could the show have covered the neutral zone treaty with the Romulans if they had more seasons? Join Ashlyn and Rhianna as we discuss the Romulan episodes in Enterprise. This is the seventh episode of the Romulan series, where Ashlyn and Rhianna talk about the Romulan episodes in every Star Trek show, discussing every Star Trek series. SPOILER WARNING: Enterprise and Discovery Season 3. Next time, we'll jump ahead in time to discuss Discovery! DISCLAIMER: We do not own any of the rights to Star Trek or its affiliations. This content is for review only. Our intro and outro is by Jerry Goldsmith. Rule of Acquisition #217: “You can't free a fish from water.” Please check out our Patreon and donate any $1, $6, $10, or $20 per month to access exclusive episodes of trivia, documentary review, and reviews of every episode of The Animated Series, Lower Decks and the Short Treks. Head to https://www.patreon.com/thedurassisterspodcast for all this and more!

In this week's show: Liverpool's John Lennon airport has new check-in rules gives budget airline passengers 'more time to relax'; KLM introduces their first Airbus A350 simulator in the Netherlands ahead of crew training; and the Airbus A320 flies past the Boeing 737 as most-delivered jetliner in history.    In the military:  The RAF Reaper flies its final operational mission marking the end of 18 years of service; and Top Gun-style tests see US Air Force pilots train alongside AI-piloted drones.    We also have Part 4 of the fascinating interview that Captain Nick took part in with Alan Munro and in this week's episode Alan talks about the tragic accident of a Vulcan that he witnesed at RAF Luqa in Malta in 1975. Take part in our chatroom to help shape the conversation of the show. You can get in touch with us all at : WhatsApp +447446975214 Email podcast@planetalkinguk.com or comment in our chatroom on YouTube.

Jake and Anthony do a good ol' news roundup—Jared Isaacman may be back as NASA Administrator, Stoke Space raises a ton of money, New Glenn gets ready for its next launch, and we have thoughts about the communication of phasing orbits.TopicsOff-Nominal - YouTubeEpisode 214 - Blasting Through the Pork Chop - YouTubeTrump, Billionaire Isaacman Said to Meet About Top NASA Job - BloombergStoke Space gives us another reason to take it very seriously - Ars TechnicaPentagon contract figures show ULA's Vulcan rocket is getting more expensive - Ars TechnicaActually, we are going to tell you the odds of recovering New Glenn's second launch - Ars TechnicaESCAPADE trajectory design creates new options for Mars smallsat missions - SpaceNewsHow America fell behind China in the lunar space race—and how it can catch back up - Ars TechnicaWe're about to find many more interstellar interlopers—here's how to visit one - Ars TechnicaFollow Off-NominalSubscribe to the show! - Off-NominalSupport the show, join the DiscordOff-Nominal (@offnom) / TwitterOff-Nominal (@offnom@spacey.space) - Spacey SpaceFollow JakeWeMartians Podcast - Follow Humanity's Journey to MarsWeMartians Podcast (@We_Martians) | TwitterJake Robins (@JakeOnOrbit) | TwitterJake Robins (@JakeOnOrbit@spacey.space) - Spacey SpaceFollow AnthonyMain Engine Cut OffMain Engine Cut Off (@WeHaveMECO) | TwitterMain Engine Cut Off (@meco@spacey.space) - Spacey SpaceAnthony Colangelo (@acolangelo) | TwitterAnthony Colangelo (@acolangelo@jawns.club) - jawns.club

Send us a textIn this episode, Tyler and Jimmy talk about some latest news that have been released this week which could be having massive positive effects for the pickleball world. They then cover the recent PPA tournaments in Vietnam and look towards the upcoming PPA in Virginia.  They end with a Q+A from the fans. Let us know what we should cover on the pod in future episodes, thanks for following along!—————————Website: https://www.tylerloong.com/ pickleballcentral.com/?oid=9&affid=7919954 click here for Huge Savings at Pickleball Central: https://pickleballcentral.com/ Use Code "KOTC" for $100 Savings on C&D Pickleball Nets: https://bestpickleballnets.com/Use Code "KOTC" to save 10% on Modballs:https://modballs.4com/products/modballs Use Code "KOTC" for Big Savings on Vulcan Gear: https://vulcansportinggoods.com/pagesNEW KOTC DISCORD https://discord.com/invite/kNR65mBemfNEW KOTC CAMEOhttps://www.cameo.com/morekotcInstagram: Tyler's IG - @tyler.loong  Jimmy's IG - @jimmymiller_pbKOTC IG - @morekingofthecourt  Facebook: / tyler.loong   --0:00 Introduction 1:46 The PICKLR 4:50 Code ‘KOTC' at pickleball.com 6:46 Cameo7:02 Pickleball.com7:15 Flick Weight13:24 Al Tylis hired as CEO of Sports Fund 18:05 Youtube X PPA 21:21 PPA Vietnam Recap 34:45 C&D Pickleball Nets37:02 PPA Virginia Beach 52:43 Vulcan 54:50 PPA Virginia Beach 1:04:00 Holey Performance 1:05:45 Q+A

We're watching Star Trek: Enterprise Season 2, Episode 14 “Stigma,” but only Maria has actually watched the episode. T’Pol has to deal with some of the repercussions from the episode “Fusion,” Phlox has to explain HIPPA laws to Archer, and Trip has an exciting B-plot involving one of Phlox’s wives. Also, all the Vulcans lie […] The post EnterpriseSplaining 55: Oops, I hate it again! appeared first on The ESO Network.

This conversation is perfect for anyone who's been told to 'just pray harder' about their depression, pastors burning out in silence, or people wondering if faith and therapy can actually coexist.More info, resources & ways to connect - https://www.tacosfallapart.com/podcast-live-show/podcast-guests/reverend-nick-scutariReverend Nick didn't set out to become the poster child for pastors who pop antidepressants, but life had other plans. This United Methodist pastor from Minnesota joined MommaFoxFire for a raw conversation about what happens when faith meets mental health reality.Nick's journey into ministry started unconventionally. A summer camp kid who discovered God through games and guitar lessons, he initially studied music before his wife helped him recognize his calling. Now 34 and ordained for over a decade, he's learned that pastoral work can "consume your soul if you let it."The conversation took a heavy turn when Nick shared about losing his best friend Clint to cancer at just 38 years old. They'd met in seminary, bonded over shared hotel rooms and missed flights, and Clint had become one of Nick's biggest supporters. His death last July sent Nick spiraling into grief that he knew he couldn't navigate alone."I knew enough to know I needed therapy," Nick said matter-of-factly. He found comfort in Dana Trent's book "Dessert First" and Nora McInerny's TED talk about how you don't move on from grief, you move forward with it. His wife gave him space to "wallow" while still offering support.Then 2020 hit. As the world shut down and Nick was transitioning to a new church, depression crashed over him like a wave. His body felt heavy, his brain fogged, and getting out of bed became a monumental task. His wife, who lives with bipolar disorder, recognized the signs immediately. Nick's doctor diagnosed situational depression and prescribed medication."It's not a happy pill," Nick clarified. "It's a get out of bed and function pill."This brings us to the heart of Nick's mission: dismantling the church's tendency to treat mental illness as a spiritual failing. He's tired of the "just pray harder" mentality that dismisses real medical needs. When someone tweeted that brain chemicals not working properly means "store bought is fine," Nick felt seen.Nick takes a both-and approach rather than either-or. You can have Jesus and a therapist and medication. Science and Christianity are teammates rather than enemies. He's witnessed too much harm from churches that overspiritualze mental health struggles or sweep them under the rug entirely.His advice for supporting someone through mental health struggles? "Be gentle with yourself, trust the process, find your people." Don't try to carry someone else's burden for them, walk alongside them instead.As an Enneagram One (the perfectionist), Nick struggles with his inner critic. Self-care looks like using his CPAP machine, taking his medication, and accepting unproductive days without shame. His productivity doesn't define his worth - a lesson he's still learning.The pandemic has made everything harder. Nick started his new pastorship virtually, getting to know parishioners through masks and Vulcan salutes instead of handshakes. But he's committed to being authentic about his struggles, even mentioning his depression from the pulpit.When asked what misconception about mental illness he'd eliminate with a magic wand, Nick didn't hesitate: the idea that people with mental health conditions are somehow "less than" or fractional people.Nick's story is all about showing up authentically in the middle of struggles. He's proof that you can be broken and holy at the same time, that faith and therapy make good companions, and that sometimes the most pastoral thing you can do is admit you need help too.In a year when everyone's hitting rock bottom, Nick offers this: we can help each other back up. No magic required, just presence, honesty, and the courage to keep showing up.

Will the JSA survive an attack from Vulcan, Son of Fire? Find out as David and Peter cover this two part tale from All-Star Comics 60 and 61. Email us at theearth2podcast@gmail.com Facebook www.facebook.com/theearth2podcast Instagram www.instagram.com/theearth2podcast Twitter www.twitter.com/podcast_earth2 Leave us a Voicemail at www.speakpipe.com/theearth2podcast And we're now on Bluesky at https://bsky.app/profile/theearth2podcast.bsky.social   #dccomics #dcmultiverse #JSA #PowerGirl #Wildcat #DrFate #Hawkman #GreenLantern #TheFlash #DrMidNite #StarSpangledKid #Earth2 #GerryConway #WallyWood #JusticeSociety #JusticeSocietyofAmerica #KeithGiffen #StarTrek #SNW

Tread Perilously's Star Trek month concludes with an Enterprise episode called "Carbon Creek." When Captain Archer invites T'Pol and Trip to a dinner celebrating the Vulcan's first full year aboard Enterprise, she tells the secret story of the first Vulcan contact with humans. The tale concerns her great-grandmother, T'Mir, a small Pennsylvania town in the late 1950s, and the culture shock T'Mir and the members of her team experienced. But is it all a put-on as T'Pol keeps reminding Archer and Trip that she was asked to "tell a story" or does it contain the ring of truth? J. Paul Boehmer ends up the MVP of the month for two appearances. Ann Cusack also proves to be a welcome addition. Geography Corner determines what Southern California town is playing Carbon Creek. The lack of Cold War paranoia in the 1950s scenes is examined. Erik tries to find a way to blame Bryan Fuller for everything. Vulcan fashions get appraised. Jolene Blalock proves a surprise as T'Mir -- who ends up more interesting than T'Pol. Justin envisions her as a Vulcan Wine Mom. The pronunciation of guest character Mestral becomes a point of confusion. But will this prove to be one of the more successful Enterprise episodes?

Elizabeth Figura is a Wine developer at Code Weavers. We discuss how Wine and Proton make it possible to run Windows applications on other operating systems. Related links WineHQ Proton Crossover Direct3D MoltenVK XAudio2 Mesa 3D Graphics Library Transcript You can help correct transcripts on GitHub. Intro [00:00:00] Jeremy: Today I am talking to Elizabeth Figuera. She's a wine developer at Code Weavers. And today we're gonna talk about what that is and, uh, all the work that goes into it. [00:00:09] Elizabeth: Thank you Jeremy. I'm glad to be here. What's Wine [00:00:13] Jeremy: I think the first thing we should talk about is maybe saying what Wine is because I think a lot of people aren't familiar with the project. [00:00:20] Elizabeth: So wine is a translation layer. in fact, I would say wine is a Windows emulator. That is what the name originally stood for. it re implements the entire windows. Or you say win 32 API. so that programs that make calls into the API, will then transfer that code to wine and and we allow that Windows programs to run on, things that are not windows. So Linux, Mac, os, other operating systems such as Solaris and BSD. it works not by emulating the CPU, but by re-implementing every API, basically from scratch and translating them to their equivalent or writing new code in case there is no, you know, equivalent. System Calls [00:01:06] Jeremy: I believe what you're doing is you're emulating system calls. Could you explain what those are and, and how that relates to the project? [00:01:15] Elizabeth: Yeah. so system call in general can be used, referred to a call into the operating system, to execute some functionality that's built into the operating system. often it's used in the context of talking to the kernel windows applications actually tend to talk at a much higher level, because there's so much, so much high level functionality built into Windows. When you think about, as opposed to other operating systems that we basically, we end up end implementing much higher level behavior than you would on Linux. [00:01:49] Jeremy: And can you give some examples of what some of those system calls would be and, I suppose how they may be higher level than some of the Linux ones. [00:01:57] Elizabeth: Sure. So of course you have like low level calls like interacting with a file system, you know, created file and read and write and such. you also have, uh, high level APIs who interact with a sound driver. [00:02:12] Elizabeth: There's, uh, one I was working on earlier today, called XAudio where you, actually, you know, build this bank of of sounds. It's meant to be, played in a game and then you can position them in various 3D space. And the, and the operating system in a sense will, take care of all of the math that goes into making that work. [00:02:36] Elizabeth: That's all running on your computer and. And then it'll send that audio data to the sound card once it's transformed it. So it sounds like it's coming from a certain space. a lot of other things like, you know, parsing XML is another big one. That there's a lot of things. The, there, the, the, the space is honestly huge [00:02:59] Jeremy: And yeah, I can sort of see how those might be things you might not expect to be done by the operating system. Like you gave the example of 3D audio and XML parsing and I think XML parsing in, in particular, you would've thought that that would be something that would be handled by the, the standard library of whatever language the person was writing their application as. [00:03:22] Jeremy: So that's interesting that it's built into the os. [00:03:25] Elizabeth: Yeah. Well, and languages like, see it's not, it isn't even part of the standard library. It's higher level than that. It's, you have specific libraries that are widespread but not. Codified in a standard, but in Windows you, in Windows, they are part of the operating system. And in fact, there's several different, XML parsers in the operating system. Microsoft likes to deprecate old APIs and make new ones that do the same thing very often. [00:03:53] Jeremy: And something I've heard about Windows is that they're typically very reluctant to break backwards compatibility. So you say they're deprecated, but do they typically keep all of them still in there? [00:04:04] Elizabeth: It all still It all still works. [00:04:07] Jeremy: And that's all things that wine has to implement as well to make sure that the software works as well. [00:04:14] Jeremy: Yeah. [00:04:14] Elizabeth: Yeah. And, and we also, you know, need to make it work. we also need to implement those things to make old, programs work because there is, uh, a lot of demand, at least from, at least from people using wine for making, for getting some really old programs, working from the. Early nineties even. What people run with Wine (Productivity, build systems, servers) [00:04:36] Jeremy: And that's probably a good, thing to talk about in terms of what, what are the types of software that, that people are trying to run with wine, and what operating system are they typically using? [00:04:46] Elizabeth: Oh, in terms of software, literally all kinds, any software you can imagine that runs on Windows, people will try to run it on wine. So we're talking games, office software productivity, software accounting. people will run, build systems on wine, build their, just run, uh, build their programs using, on visual studio, running on wine. people will run wine on servers, for example, like software as a service kind of things where you don't even know that it's running on wine. really super domain specific stuff. Like I've run astronomy, software, and wine. Design, computer assisted design, even hardware drivers can sometimes work unwind. There's a bit of a gray area. How games are different [00:05:29] Jeremy: Yeah, it's um, I think from. Maybe the general public, or at least from what I've seen, I think a lot of people's exposure to it is for playing games. is there something different about games versus all those other types of, productivity software and office software that, that makes supporting those different. [00:05:53] Elizabeth: Um, there's some things about it that are different. Games of course have gotten a lot of publicity lately because there's been a huge push, largely from valve, but also some other companies to get. A lot of huge, wide range of games working well under wine. And that's really panned out in the, in a way, I think, I think we've largely succeeded. [00:06:13] Elizabeth: We've made huge strides in the past several years. 5, 5, 10 years, I think. so when you talk about what makes games different, I think, one thing games tend to do is they have a very limited set of things they're working with and they often want to make things run fast, and so they're working very close to the me They're not, they're not gonna use an XML parser, for example. [00:06:44] Elizabeth: They're just gonna talk directly as, directly to the graphics driver as they can. Right. And, and probably going to do all their own sound design. You know, I did talk about that XAudio library, but a lot of games will just talk directly as, directly to the sound driver as Windows Let some, so this is a often a blessing, honestly, because it means there's less we have to implement to make them work. when you look at a lot of productivity applications, and especially, the other thing that makes some productivity applications harder is, Microsoft makes 'em, and They like to, make a library, for use in this one program like Microsoft Office and then say, well, you know, other programs might use this as well. Let's. Put it in the operating system and expose it and write an API for it and everything. And maybe some other programs use it. mostly it's just office, but it means that office relies on a lot of things from the operating system that we all have to reimplement. [00:07:44] Jeremy: Yeah, that's somewhat counterintuitive because when you think of games, you think of these really high performance things that that seem really complicated. But it sounds like from what you're saying, because they use the lower level primitives, they're actually easier in some ways to support. [00:08:01] Elizabeth: Yeah, certainly in some ways, they, yeah, they'll do things like re-implement the heap allocator because the built-in heap allocator isn't fast enough for them. That's another good example. What makes some applications hard to support (Some are hard, can't debug other people's apps) [00:08:16] Jeremy: You mentioned Microsoft's more modern, uh, office suites. I, I've noticed there's certain applications that, that aren't supported. Like, for example, I think the modern Adobe Creative Suite. What's the difference with software like that and does that also apply to the modern office suite, or is, or is that actually supported? [00:08:39] Elizabeth: Well, in one case you have, things like Microsoft using their own APIs that I mentioned with Adobe. That applies less, I suppose, but I think to some degree, I think to some degree the answer is that some applications are just hard and there's, and, and there's no way around it. And, and we can only spend so much time on a hard application. I. Debugging things. Debugging things can get very hard with wine. Let's, let me like explain that for a minute because, Because normally when you think about debugging an application, you say, oh, I'm gonna open up my debugger, pop it in, uh, break at this point, see what like all the variables are, or they're not what I expect. Or maybe wait for it to crash and then get a back trace and see where it crashed. And why you can't do that with wine, because you don't have the application, you don't have the symbols, you don't have your debugging symbols. You don't know anything about the code you're running unless you take the time to disassemble and decompile and read through it. And that's difficult every time. It's not only difficult, every time I've, I've looked at a program and been like, I really need to just. I'm gonna just try and figure out what the program is doing. [00:10:00] Elizabeth: It takes so much time and it is never worth it. And sometimes you have to, sometimes you have no other choice, but usually you end up, you ask to rely on seeing what calls it makes into the operating system and trying to guess which one of those is going wrong. Now, sometimes you'll get lucky and it'll crash in wine code, or sometimes it'll make a call into, a function that we don't implement yet, and we know, oh, we need to implement that function. But sometimes it does something, more obscure and we have to figure out, well, like all of these millions of calls it made, which one of them is, which one of them are we implementing incorrectly? So it's returning the wrong result or not doing something that it should. And, then you add onto that the. You know, all these sort of harder to debug things like memory errors that we could make. And it's, it can be very difficult and so sometimes some applications just suffer from those hard bugs. and sometimes it's also just a matter of not enough demand for something for us to spend a lot of time on it. [00:11:11] Elizabeth: Right. [00:11:14] Jeremy: Yeah, I can see how that would be really challenging because you're, like you were saying, you don't have the symbols, so you don't have the source code, so you don't know what any of this software you're supporting, how it was actually written. And you were saying that I. A lot of times, you know, there may be some behavior that's wrong or a crash, but it's not because wine crashed or there was an error in wine. [00:11:42] Jeremy: so you just know the system calls it made, but you don't know which of the system calls didn't behave the way that the application expected. [00:11:50] Elizabeth: Exactly. Test suite (Half the code is tests) [00:11:52] Jeremy: I can see how that would be really challenging. and wine runs so many different applications. I'm, I'm kind of curious how do you even track what's working and what's not as you, you change wine because if you support thousands or tens thousands of applications, you know, how do you know when you've got a, a regression or not? [00:12:15] Elizabeth: So, it's a great question. Um, probably over half of wine by like source code volume. I actually actually check what it is, but I think it's, i, I, I think it's probably over half is what we call is tests. And these tests serve two purposes. The one purpose is a regression test. And the other purpose is they're conformance tests that test, that test how, uh, an API behaves on windows and validates that we are behaving the same way. So we write all these tests, we run them on windows and you know, write the tests to check what the windows returns, and then we run 'em on wine and make sure that that matches. and we have just such a huge body of tests to make sure that, you know, we're not breaking anything. And that every, every, all the code that we, that we get into wine that looks like, wow, it's doing that really well. Nope, that's what Windows does. The test says so. So pretty much any code that we, any new code that we get, it has to have tests to validate, to, to demonstrate that it's doing the right thing. [00:13:31] Jeremy: And so rather than testing against a specific application, seeing if it works, you're making a call to a Windows system call, seeing how it responds, and then making the same call within wine and just making sure they match. [00:13:48] Elizabeth: Yes, exactly. And that is obviously, or that is a lot more, automatable, right? Because otherwise you have to manually, you know, there's all, these are all graphical applications. [00:14:02] Elizabeth: You'd have to manually do the things and make sure they work. Um, but if you write automateable tests, you can just run them all and the machine will complain at you if it fails it continuous integration. How compatibility problems appear to users [00:14:13] Jeremy: And because there's all these potential compatibility issues where maybe a certain call doesn't behave the way an application expects. What, what are the types of what that shows when someone's using software? I mean, I, I think you mentioned crashes, but I imagine there could be all sorts of other types of behavior. [00:14:37] Elizabeth: Yes, very much so. basically anything, anything you can imagine again is, is what will happen. You can have, crashes are the easy ones because you know when and where it crashed and you can work backwards from there. but you can also get, it can, it could hang, it could not render, right? Like maybe render a black screen. for, you know, for games you could very frequently have, graphical glitches where maybe some objects won't render right? Or the entire screen will be read. Who knows? in a very bad case, you could even bring down your system and we usually say that's not wine's fault. That's the graphics library's fault. 'cause they're not supposed to do that, uh, no matter what we do. But, you know, sometimes we have to work around that anyway. but yeah, there's, there's been some very strange and idiosyncratic bugs out there too. [00:15:33] Jeremy: Yeah. And like you mentioned that uh, there's so many different things that could have gone wrong that imagine's very difficult to find. Yeah. And when software runs through wine, I think, Performance is comparable to native [00:15:49] Jeremy: A lot of our listeners will probably be familiar with running things in a virtual machine, and they know that there's a big performance impact from doing that. [00:15:57] Jeremy: How does the performance of applications compare to running natively on the original Windows OS versus virtual machines? [00:16:08] Elizabeth: So. In theory. and I, I haven't actually done this recently, so I can't speak too much to that, but in theory, the idea is it's a lot faster. so there, there, is a bit of a joke acronym to wine. wine is not an emulator, even though I started out by saying wine is an emulator, and it was originally called a Windows emulator. but what this basically means is wine is not a CPU emulator. It doesn't, when you think about emulators in a general sense, they're often, they're often emulators for specific CPUs, often older ones like, you know, the Commodore emulator or an Amiga emulator. but in this case, you have software that's written for an x86 CPU. And it's running on an x86 CPU by giving it the same instructions that it's giving on windows. It's just that when it says, now call this Windows function, it calls us instead. So that all should perform exactly the same. The only performance difference at that point is that all should perform exactly the same as opposed to a, virtual machine where you have to interpret the instructions and maybe translate them to a different instruction set. The only performance difference is going to be, in the functions that we are implementing themselves and we try to, we try to implement them to perform. As well, or almost as well as windows. There's always going to be a bit of a theoretical gap because we have to translate from say, one API to another, but we try to make that as little as possible. And in some cases, the operating system we're running on is, is just better than Windows and the libraries we're using are better than Windows. [00:18:01] Elizabeth: And so our games will run faster, for example. sometimes we can, sometimes we can, do a better job than Windows at implementing something that's, that's under our purview. there there are some games that do actually run a little bit faster in wine than they do on Windows. [00:18:22] Jeremy: Yeah, that, that reminds me of how there's these uh, gaming handhelds out now, and some of the same ones, they have a, they either let you install Linux or install windows, or they just come with a pre-installed, and I believe what I've read is that oftentimes running the same game on both operating systems, running the same game on Linux, the battery life is better and sometimes even the performance is better with these handhelds. [00:18:53] Jeremy: So it's, it's really interesting that that can even be the case. [00:18:57] Elizabeth: Yeah, it's really a testament to the huge amount of work that's gone into that, both on the wine side and on the, side of the graphics team and the colonel team. And, and of course, you know, the years of, the years of, work that's gone into Linux, even before these gaming handhelds were, were even under consideration. Proton and Valve Software's role [00:19:21] Jeremy: And something. So for people who are familiar with the handhelds, like the steam deck, they may have heard of proton. Uh, I wonder if you can explain what proton is and how it relates to wine. [00:19:37] Elizabeth: Yeah. So, proton is basically, how do I describe this? So, proton is a sort of a fork, uh, although we try to avoid the term fork. It's a, we say it's a downstream distribution because we contribute back up to wine. so it is a, it is, it is a alternate distribution fork of wine. And it's also some code that basically glues wine into, an embedding application originally intended for steam, and developed for valve. it has also been used in, others, but it has also been used in other software. it, so where proton differs from wine besides the glue part is it has some, it has some extra hacks in it for bugs that are hard to fix and easy to hack around as some quick hacks for, making games work now that are like in the process of going upstream to wine and getting their code quality improved and going through review. [00:20:54] Elizabeth: But we want the game to work now, when we distribute it. So that'll, that'll go into proton immediately. And then once we have, once the patch makes it upstream, we replace it with the version of the patch from upstream. there's other things to make it interact nicely with steam and so on. And yeah, I think, yeah, I think that's, I got it. [00:21:19] Jeremy: Yeah. And I think for people who aren't familiar, steam is like this, um, I, I don't even know what you call it, like a gaming store and a [00:21:29] Elizabeth: store game distribution service. it's got a huge variety of games on it, and you just publish. And, and it's a great way for publishers to interact with their, you know, with a wider gaming community, uh, after it, just after paying a cut to valve of their profits, they can reach a lot of people that way. And because all these games are on team and, valve wants them to work well on, on their handheld, they contracted us to basically take their entire catalog, which is huge, enormous. And trying and just step by step. Fix every game and make them all work. [00:22:10] Jeremy: So, um, and I guess for people who aren't familiar Valve, uh, softwares the company that runs steam, and so it sounds like they've asked, uh, your company to, to help improve the compatibility of their catalog. [00:22:24] Elizabeth: Yes. valve contracted us and, and again, when you're talking about wine using lower level libraries, they've also contracted a lot of other people outside of wine. Basically, the entire stack has had a tremendous, tremendous investment by valve software to make gaming on Linux work. Well. The entire stack receives changes to improve Wine compatibility [00:22:48] Jeremy: And when you refer to the entire stack, like what are some, some of those pieces, at least at a high level. [00:22:54] Elizabeth: I, I would, let's see, let me think. There is the wine project, the. Mesa Graphics Libraries. that's a, that's another, you know, uh, open source, software project that existed, has existed for a long time. But Valve has put a lot of, uh, funding and effort into it, the Linux kernel in various different ways. [00:23:17] Elizabeth: the, the desktop, uh, environment and Window Manager for, um, are also things they've invested in. [00:23:26] Jeremy: yeah. Everything that the game needs, on any level and, and that the, and that the operating system of the handheld device needs. Wine's history [00:23:37] Jeremy: And wine's been going on for quite a while. I think it's over a decade, right? [00:23:44] Elizabeth: I believe. Oh, more than, oh, far more than a decade. I believe it started in 1990, I wanna say about 1995, mid nineties. I'm, I probably have that date wrong. I believe Wine started about the mid nineties. [00:24:00] Jeremy: Mm. [00:24:00] Elizabeth: it's going on for three decades at this rate. [00:24:03] Jeremy: Wow. Okay. [00:24:06] Jeremy: And so all this time, how has the, the project sort of sustained itself? Like who's been involved and how has it been able to keep going this long? [00:24:18] Elizabeth: Uh, I think as is the case with a lot of free software, it just, it just keeps trudging along. There's been. There's been times where there's a lot of interest in wine. There's been times where there's less, and we are fortunate to be in a time where there's a lot of interest in it. we've had the same maintainer for almost this entire, almost this entire existence. Uh, Alexander Julliard, there was one person starting who started, maintained it before him and, uh, left it maintainer ship to him after a year or two. Uh, Bob Amstat. And there has been a few, there's been a few developers who have been around for a very long time. a lot of developers who have been around for a decent amount of time, but not for the entire duration. And then a very, very large number of people who come and submit a one-off fix for their individual application that they want to make work. [00:25:19] Jeremy: How does crossover relate to the wine project? Like, it sounds like you had mentioned Valve software hired you for subcontract work, but crossover itself has been around for quite a while. So how, how has that been connected to the wine project? [00:25:37] Elizabeth: So I work for, so the, so the company I work for is Code Weavers and, crossover is our flagship software. so Code Weavers is a couple different things. We have a sort of a porting service where companies will come to us and say, can we port my application usually to Mac? And then we also have a retail service where Where we basically have our own, similar to Proton, but you know, older, but the same idea where we will add some hacks into it for very difficult to solve bugs and we have a, a nice graphical interface. And then, the other thing that we're selling with crossover is support. So if you, you know, try to run a certain application and you buy crossover, you can submit a ticket saying this doesn't work and we now have a financial incentive to fix it. You know, we'll try to, we'll try to fix your, we'll spend company resources to fix your bug, right? So that's been so, so code we v has been around since 1996 and crossover, I don't know the date, but it's crossover has been around for probably about two decades, if I'm not mistaken. [00:27:01] Jeremy: And when you mention helping companies port their software to, for example, MacOS. [00:27:07] Jeremy: Is the approach that you would port it natively to MacOS APIs or is it that you would help them get it running using wine on MacOS? [00:27:21] Elizabeth: Right. That's, so that's basically what makes us so unique among porting companies is that instead of rewriting their software, we just, we just basically stick it inside of crossover and, uh, and, and make it run. [00:27:36] Elizabeth: And the idea has always been, you know, the more we implement, the more we get correct, the, the more applications will, you know, work. And sometimes it works out that way. Sometimes not really so much. And there's always work we have to do to get any given application to work, but. Yeah, so it's, it's very unusual because we don't ask companies for any of their code. We don't need it. We just fix the windows API [00:28:07] Jeremy: And, and so in that case, the ports would be let's say someone sells a MacOS version of their software. They would bundle crossover, uh, with their software. [00:28:18] Elizabeth: Right? And usually when you do this, it doesn't look like there's crossover there. Like it just looks like this software is native, but there is soft, there is crossover under the hood. Loading executables and linked libraries [00:28:32] Jeremy: And so earlier we were talking about how you're basically intercepting the system calls that these binaries are making, whether that's the executable or the, the DLLs from Windows. Um, but I think probably a lot of our listeners are not really sure how that's done. Like they, they may have built software, but they don't know, how do I basically hijack, the system calls that this application is making. [00:29:01] Jeremy: So maybe you could talk a little bit about how that works. [00:29:04] Elizabeth: So there, so there's a couple steps to go into it. when you think about a program that's say, that's a big, a big file that's got all the machine code in it, and then it's got stuff at the beginning saying, here's how the program works and here's where in the file the processor should start running. that's, that's your EXE file. And then in your DLL files are libraries that contain shared code and you have like a similar sort of file. It says, here's the entry point. That runs this function, this, you know, this pars XML function or whatever have you. [00:29:42] Elizabeth: And here's this entry point that has the generate XML function and so on and so forth. And, and, then the operating system will basically take the EXE file and see all the bits in it. Say I want to call the pars XML function. It'll load that DLL and hook it up. So it, so the processor ends up just seeing jump directly to this pars XML function and then run that and then return and so on. [00:30:14] Elizabeth: And so what wine does, is it part of wine? That's part of wine is a library, is that, you know, the implementing that parse XML and read XML function, but part of it is the loader, which is the part of the operating system that hooks everything together. And when we load, we. Redirect to our libraries. We don't have Windows libraries. [00:30:38] Elizabeth: We like, we redirect to ours and then we run our code. And then when you jump back to the program and yeah. [00:30:48] Jeremy: So it's the, the loader that's a part of wine. That's actually, I'm not sure if running the executable is the right term. [00:30:58] Elizabeth: no, I think that's, I think that's a good term. It's, it's, it's, it starts in a loader and then we say, okay, now run the, run the machine code and it's executable and then it runs and it jumps between our libraries and back and so on. [00:31:14] Jeremy: And like you were saying before, often times when it's trying to make a system call, it ends up being handled by a function that you've written in wine. And then that in turn will call the, the Linux system calls or the MacOS system calls to try and accomplish the, the same result. [00:31:36] Elizabeth: Right, exactly. [00:31:40] Jeremy: And something that I think maybe not everyone is familiar with is there's this concept of user space versus kernel space. you explain what the difference is? [00:31:51] Elizabeth: So the way I would explain, the way I would describe a kernel is it's the part of the operating system that can do anything, right? So any program, any code that runs on your computer is talking to the processor, and the processor has to be able to do anything the computer can do. [00:32:10] Elizabeth: It has to be able to talk to the hardware, it has to set up the memory space. That, so actually a very complicated task has to be able to switch to another task. and, and, and, and basically talk to another program and. You have to have something there that can do everything, but you don't want any program to be able to do everything. Um, not since the, not since the nineties. It's about when we realized that we can't do that. so the kernel is a part that can do everything. And when you need to do something that requires those, those permissions that you can't give everyone, you have to talk to the colonel and ask it, Hey, can you do this for me please? And in a very restricted way where it's only the safe things you can do. And a degree, it's also like a library, right? It's the kernel. The kernels have always existed, and since they've always just been the core standard library of the computer that does the, that does the things like read and write files, which are very, very complicated tasks under the hood, but look very simple because all you say is write this file. And talk to the hardware and abstract away all the difference between different drivers. So the kernel is doing all of these things. So because the kernel is a part that can do everything and because when you think about the kernel, it is basically one program that is always running on your computer, but it's only one program. So when a user calls the kernel, you are switching from one program to another and you're doing a lot of complicated things as part of this. You're switching to the higher privilege level where you can do anything and you're switching the state from one program to another. And so it's a it. So this is what we mean when we talk about user space, where you're running like a normal program and kernel space where you've suddenly switched into the kernel. [00:34:19] Elizabeth: Now you're executing with increased privileges in a different. idea of the process space and increased responsibility and so on. [00:34:30] Jeremy: And, and so do most applications. When you were talking about the system calls for handling 3D audio or parsing XML. Are those considered, are those system calls considered part of user space and then those things call the kernel space on your behalf, or how, how would you describe that? [00:34:50] Elizabeth: So most, so when you look at Windows, most of most of the Windows library, the vast, vast majority of it is all user space. most of these libraries that we implement never leave user space. They never need to call into the kernel. there's the, there only the core low level stuff. Things like, we need to read a file, that's a kernel call. when you need to sleep and wait for some seconds, that's a kernel. Need to talk to a different process. Things that interact with different processes in general. not just allocate memory, but allocate a page of memory, like a, from the memory manager and then that gets sub allocated by the heap allocator. so things like that. [00:35:31] Jeremy: Yeah, so if I was writing an application and I needed to open a file, for example, does, does that mean that I would have to communicate with the kernel to, to read that file? [00:35:43] Elizabeth: Right, exactly. [00:35:46] Jeremy: And so most applications, it sounds like it's gonna be a mixture. You're gonna have a lot of things that call user space calls. And then a few, you mentioned more low level ones that are gonna require you to communicate with the kernel. [00:36:00] Elizabeth: Yeah, basically. And it's worth noting that in, in all operating systems, you're, you're almost always gonna be calling a user space library. That might just be a thin wrapper over the kernel call. It might, it's gonna do like just a little bit of work in end call the kernel. [00:36:19] Jeremy: [00:36:19] Elizabeth: In fact, in Windows, that's the only way to do it. Uh, in many other operating systems, you can actually say, you can actually tell the processor to make the kernel call. There is a special instruction that does this and just, and it'll go directly to the kernel, and there's a defined interface for this. But in Windows, that interface is not defined. It's not stable. Or backwards compatible like the rest of Windows is. So even if you wanted to use it, you couldn't. and you basically have to call into the high level libraries or low level libraries, as it were, that, that tell you that create a file. And those don't do a lot. [00:37:00] Elizabeth: They just kind of tweak their parameters a little and then pass them right down to the kernel. [00:37:07] Jeremy: And so wine, it sounds like it needs to implement both the user space calls of windows, but then also the, the kernel, calls as well. But, but wine itself does that, is that only in Linux user space or MacOS user space? [00:37:27] Elizabeth: Yes. This is a very tricky thing. but all of wine, basically all of what is wine runs in, in user space and we use. Kernel calls that are already there to talk to the colonel, to talk to the host Colonel. You have to, and you, you get, you get, you get the sort of second nature of thinking about the Windows, user space and kernel. [00:37:50] Elizabeth: And then there's a host user space and Kernel and wine is running all in user, in the user, in the host user space, but it's emulating the Windows kernel. In fact, one of the weirdest, trickiest parts is I mentioned that you can run some drivers in wine. And those drivers actually, they actually are, they think they're running in the Windows kernel. which in a sense works the same way. It has libraries that it can load, and those drivers are basically libraries and they're making, kernel calls and they're, they're making calls into the kernel library that does some very, very low level tasks that. You're normally only supposed to be able to do in a kernel. And, you know, because the kernel requires some privileges, we kind of pretend we have them. And in many cases, you're even the drivers are using abstractions. We can just implement those abstractions kind of over the slightly higher level abstractions that exist in user space. [00:39:00] Jeremy: Yeah, I hadn't even considered the being able to use hardware devices, but I, I suppose if in, in the end, if you're reproducing the kernel, then whether you're running software or you're talking to a hardware device, as long as you implement the calls correctly, then I, I suppose it works. [00:39:18] Elizabeth: Cause you're, you're talking about device, like maybe it's some kind of USB device that has drivers for Windows, but it doesn't for, for Linux. [00:39:28] Elizabeth: no, that's exactly, that's a, that's kind of the, the example I've used. Uh, I think there is, I think I. My, one of my best success stories was, uh, drivers for a graphing calculator. [00:39:41] Jeremy: Oh, wow. [00:39:42] Elizabeth: That connected via USB and I basically just plugged the windows drivers into wine and, and ran it. And I had to implement a lot of things, but it worked. But for example, something like a graphics driver is not something you could implement in wine because you need the graphics driver on the host. We can't talk to the graphics driver while the host is already doing so. [00:40:05] Jeremy: I see. Yeah. And in that case it probably doesn't make sense to do so [00:40:11] Elizabeth: Right? [00:40:12] Elizabeth: Right. It doesn't because, the transition from user into kernel is complicated. You need the graphics driver to be in the kernel and the real kernel. Having it in wine would be a bad idea. Yeah. [00:40:25] Jeremy: I, I think there's, there's enough APIs you have to try and reproduce that. I, I think, uh, doing, doing something where, [00:40:32] Elizabeth: very difficult [00:40:33] Jeremy: right. Poor system call documentation and private APIs [00:40:35] Jeremy: There's so many different, calls both in user space and in kernel space. I imagine the, the user space ones Microsoft must document to some extent, but, oh. Is that, is that a [00:40:51] Elizabeth: well, sometimes, [00:40:54] Jeremy: Sometimes. Okay. [00:40:55] Elizabeth: I think it's actually better now than it used to be. But some, here's where things get fun, because sometimes there will be, you know, regular documented calls. Sometimes those calls are documented, but the documentation isn't very good. Sometimes programs will just sort of look inside Microsoft's DLLs and use calls that they aren't supposed to be using. Sometimes they use calls that they are supposed to be using, but the documentation has disappeared. just because it's that old of an API and Microsoft hasn't kept it around. sometimes some, sometimes Microsoft, Microsoft own software uses, APIs that were never documented because they never wanted anyone else using them, but they still ship them with the operating system. there was actually a kind of a lawsuit about this because it is an antitrust lawsuit, because by shipping things that only they could use, they were kind of creating a trust. and that got some things documented. At least in theory, they kind of haven't stopped doing it, though. [00:42:08] Jeremy: Oh, so even today they're, they're, I guess they would call those private, private APIs, I suppose. [00:42:14] Elizabeth: I suppose. Uh, yeah, you could say private APIs. but if we want to get, you know, newer versions of Microsoft Office running, we still have to figure out what they're doing and implement them. [00:42:25] Jeremy: And given that they're either, like you were saying, the documentation is kind of all over the place. If you don't know how it's supposed to behave, how do you even approach implementing them? [00:42:38] Elizabeth: and that's what the conformance tests are for. And I, yeah, I mentioned earlier we have this huge body of conformance tests that double is regression tests. if we see an API, we don't know what to do with or an API, we do know, we, we think we know what to do with because the documentation can just be wrong and often has been. Then we write tests to figure out what it's supposed to behave. We kind of guess until we, and, and we write tests and we pass some things in and see what comes out and see what. The see what the operating system does until we figure out, oh, so this is what it's supposed to do and these are the exact parameters in, and, and then we, and, and then we implement it according to those tests. [00:43:24] Jeremy: Is there any distinction in approach for when you're trying to implement something that's at the user level versus the kernel level? [00:43:33] Elizabeth: No, not really. And like I, and like I mentioned earlier, like, well, I mean, a kernel call is just like a library call. It's just done in a slightly different way, but it's still got, you know, parameters in, it's still got a set of parameters. They're just encoded differently. And, and again, like the, the way kernel calls are done is on a level just above the kernel where you have a library, that just passes things through. Almost verbatim to the kernel and we implement that library instead. [00:44:10] Jeremy: And, and you've been working on i, I think, wine for over, over six years now. [00:44:18] Elizabeth: That sounds about right. Debugging and having broad knowledge of Wine [00:44:20] Jeremy: What does, uh, your, your day to day look like? What parts of the project do you, do you work on? [00:44:27] Elizabeth: It really varies from day to day. and I, I, a lot of people, a lot of, some people will work on the same parts of wine for years. Uh, some people will switch around and work on all sorts of different things. [00:44:42] Elizabeth: And I'm, I definitely belong to that second group. Like if you name an area of wine, I have almost certainly contributed a patch or two to it. there's some areas I work on more than others, like, 3D graphics, multimedia, a, I had, I worked on a compiler that exists, uh, socket. So networking communication is another thing I work a lot on. day to day, I kind of just get, I, I I kind of just get a bug for some program or another. and I take it and I debug it and figure out why the program's broken and then I fix it. And there's so much variety in that. because a bug can take so many different forms like I described, and, and, and the, and then the fix can be simple or complicated or, and it can be in really anywhere to a degree. [00:45:40] Elizabeth: being able to work on any part of wine is sometimes almost a necessity because if a program is just broken, you don't know why. It could be anything. It could be any sort of API. And sometimes you can hand the API to somebody who's got a lot of experience in that, but sometimes you just do whatever. You just fix whatever's broken and you get an experience that way. [00:46:06] Jeremy: Yeah, I mean, I was gonna ask about the specialized skills to, to work on wine, but it sounds like maybe in your case it's all of them. [00:46:15] Elizabeth: It's, there's a bit of that. it's a wine. We, the skills to work on wine are very, it's a very unique set of skills because, and it largely comes down to debugging because you can't use the tools you normally use debug. [00:46:30] Elizabeth: You have to, you have to be creative and think about it different ways. Sometimes you have to be very creative. and programs will try their hardest to avoid being debugged because they don't want anyone breaking their copy protection, for example, or or hacking, or, you know, hacking in sheets. They want to be, they want, they don't want anyone hacking them like that. [00:46:54] Elizabeth: And we have to do it anyway for good and legitimate purposes. We would argue to make them work better on more operating systems. And so we have to fight that every step of the way. [00:47:07] Jeremy: Yeah, it seems like it's a combination of. F being able, like you, you were saying, being able to, to debug. and you're debugging not necessarily your own code, but you're debugging this like behavior of, [00:47:25] Jeremy: And then based on that behavior, you have to figure out, okay, where in all these different systems within wine could this part be not working? [00:47:35] Jeremy: And I, I suppose you probably build up some kind of, mental map in your head of when you get a, a type of bug or a type of crash, you oh, maybe it's this, maybe it's here, or something [00:47:47] Elizabeth: Yeah. That, yeah, there is a lot of that. there's, you notice some patterns, you know, after experience helps, but because any bug could be new, sometimes experience doesn't help and you just, you just kind of have to start from scratch. Finding a bug related to XAudio [00:48:08] Jeremy: At sort of a high level, can you give an example of where you got a specific bug report and then where you had to look to eventually find which parts of the the system were the issue? [00:48:21] Elizabeth: one, one I think good example, that I've done recently. so I mentioned this, this XAudio library that does 3D audio. And if you say you come across a bug, I'm gonna be a little bit generics here and say you come across a bug where some audio isn't playing right, maybe there's, silence where there should be the audio. So you kind of, you look in and see, well, where's that getting lost? So you can basically look in the input calls and say, here's the buffer it's submitting that's got all the audio data in it. And you look at the output, you look at where you think the output should be, like, that library will internally call a different library, which programs can interact with directly. [00:49:03] Elizabeth: And this our high level library interacts with that is the, give this sound to the audio driver, right? So you've got XAudio on top of, um. mdev, API, which is the other library that gives audio to the driver. And you see, well, the ba the buffer is that XAudio is passing into MM Dev, dev API. They're empty, there's nothing in them. So you have to kind of work through the XAudio library to see where is, where's that sound getting lost? Or maybe, or maybe that's not getting lost. Maybe it's coming through all garbled. And I've had to look at the buffer and see why is it garbled. I'll open up it up in Audacity and look at the weight shape of the wave and say, huh, that shape of the wave looks like it's, it looks like we're putting silence every 10 nanoseconds or something, or, or reversing something or interpreting it wrong. things like that. Um, there's a lot of, you'll do a lot of, putting in print fs basically all throughout wine to see where does the state change. Where was, where is it? Where is it? Right? And then where do things start going wrong? [00:50:14] Jeremy: Yeah. And in the audio example, because they're making a call to your XAudio implementation, you can see that Okay, the, the buffer, the audio that's coming in. That part is good. It, it's just that later on when it sends it to what's gonna actually have it be played by the, the hardware, that's when missing. So, [00:50:37] Elizabeth: We did something wrong in a library that destroyed the buffer. And I think on a very, high level a lot of debugging, wine is about finding where things are good and finding where things are bad, and then narrowing that down until we find the one spot where things go wrong. There's a lot of processes that go like that. [00:50:57] Jeremy: like you were saying, the more you see these problems, hopefully the, the easier it gets to, to narrow down where, [00:51:04] Elizabeth: Often. Yeah. Especially if you keep debugging things in the same area. How much code is OS specific?c [00:51:09] Jeremy: And wine supports more than one operating system. I, I saw there was Linux, MacOS I think free BSD. How much of the code is operating system specific versus how much can just be shared across all of them? [00:51:27] Elizabeth: Not that much is operating system specific actually. so when you think about the volume of wine, the, the, the, vast majority of it is the high level code that doesn't need to interact with the operating system on a low level. Right? Because Windows keeps putting, because Microsoft keeps putting lots and lots of different libraries in their operating system. And a lot of these are high level libraries. and even when we do interact with the operating system, we're, we're using cross-platform libraries or we're using, we're using ics. The, uh, so all these operating systems that we are implementing are con, basically conformed to the posix standard. which is basically like Unix, they're all Unix based. Psic is a Unix based standard. Microsoft is, you know, the big exception that never did implement that. And, and so we have to translate its APIs to Unix, APIs. now that said, there is a lot of very operating system, specific code. Apple makes things difficult by try, by diverging almost wherever they can. And so we have a lot of Apple specific code in there. [00:52:46] Jeremy: another example I can think of is, I believe MacOS doesn't support, Vulkan [00:52:53] Elizabeth: yes. Yeah.Yeah, That's a, yeah, that's a great example of Mac not wanting to use, uh, generic libraries that work on every other operating system. and in some cases we, we look at it and are like, alright, we'll implement a wrapper for that too, on top of Yuri, on top of your, uh, operating system. We've done it for Windows, we can do it for Vulkan. and that's, and then you get the Molten VK project. Uh, and to be clear, we didn't invent molten vk. It was around before us. We have contributed a lot to it. Direct3d, Vulkan, and MoltenVK [00:53:28] Jeremy: Yeah, I think maybe just at a high level might be good to explain the relationship between Direct 3D or Direct X and Vulcan and um, yeah. Yeah. Maybe if you could go into that. [00:53:42] Elizabeth: so Direct 3D is Microsoft's 3D API. the 3D APIs, you know, are, are basically a way to, they're way to firstly abstract out the differences between different graphics, graphics cards, which, you know, look very different on a hardware level. [00:54:03] Elizabeth: Especially. They, they used to look very different and they still do look very different. and secondly, a way to deal with them at a high level because actually talking to the graphics card on a low level is very, very complicated. Even talking to it on a high level is complicated, but it gets, it can get a lot worse if you've ever been a, if you've ever done any graphics, driver development. so you have a, a number of different APIs that achieve these two goals of, of, abstraction and, and of, of, of building a common abstraction and of building a, a high level abstraction. so OpenGL is the broadly the free, the free operating system world, the non Microsoft's world's choice, back in the day. [00:54:53] Elizabeth: And then direct 3D was Microsoft's API and they've and Direct 3D. And both of these have evolved over time and come up with new versions and such. And when any, API exists for too long. It gains a lot of croft and needs to be replaced. And eventually, eventually the people who developed OpenGL decided we need to start over, get rid of the Croft to make it cleaner and make it lower level. [00:55:28] Elizabeth: Because to get in a maximum performance games really want low level access. And so they made Vulcan, Microsoft kind of did the same thing, but they still call it Direct 3D. they just, it's, it's their, the newest version of Direct 3D is lower level. It's called Direct 3D 12. and, and, Mac looked at this and they decided we're gonna do the same thing too, but we're not gonna use Vulcan. [00:55:52] Elizabeth: We're gonna define our own. And they call it metal. And so when we want to translate D 3D 12 into something that another operating system understands. That's probably Vulcan. And, and on Mac, we need to translate it to metal somehow. And we decided instead of having a separate layer from D three 12 to metal, we're just gonna translate it to Vulcan and then translate the Vulcan to metal. And it also lets things written for Vulcan on Windows, which is also a thing that exists that lets them work on metal. [00:56:30] Jeremy: And having to do that translation, does that have a performance impact or is that not really felt? [00:56:38] Elizabeth: yes. It's kind of like, it's kind of like anything, when you talk about performance, like I mentioned this earlier, there's always gonna be overhead from translating from one API to another. But we try to, what we, we put in heroic efforts to. And try, try to make sure that doesn't matter, to, to make sure that stuff that needs to be fast is really as fast as it can possibly be. [00:57:06] Elizabeth: And some very clever things have been done along those lines. and, sometimes the, you know, the graphics drivers underneath are so good that it actually does run better, even despite the translation overhead. And then sometimes to make it run fast, we need to say, well, we're gonna implement a new API that behaves more like windows, so we can do less work translating it. And that's, and sometimes that goes into the graphics library and sometimes that goes into other places. Targeting Wine instead of porting applications [00:57:43] Jeremy: Yeah. Something I've found a little bit interesting about the last few years is [00:57:49] Jeremy: Developers in the past, they would generally target Windows and you might be lucky to get a Mac port or a Linux port. And I wonder, like, in your opinion now, now that a lot of developers are just targeting Windows and relying on wine or, or proton to, to run their software, is there any, I suppose, downside to doing that? [00:58:17] Jeremy: Or is it all just upside, like everyone should target Windows as this common platform? [00:58:23] Elizabeth: Yeah. It's an interesting question. I, there's some people who seem to think it's a bad thing that, that we're not getting native ports in the same sense, and then there's some people who. Who See, no, that's a perfectly valid way to do ports just right for this defacto common API it was never intended as a cross platform common API, but we've made it one. [00:58:47] Elizabeth: Right? And so why is that any worse than if it runs on a different API on on Linux or Mac and I? Yeah, I, I, I guess I tend to, I, that that argument tends to make sense to me. I don't, I don't really see, I don't personally see a lot of reason for, to, to, to say that one library is more pure than another. [00:59:12] Elizabeth: Right now, I do think Windows APIs are generally pretty bad. I, I'm, this might be, you know, just some sort of, this might just be an effect of having to work with them for a very long time and see all their flaws and have to deal with the nonsense that they do. But I think that a lot of the. Native Linux APIs are better. But if you like your Windows API better. And if you want to target Windows and that's the only way to do it, then sure why not? What's wrong with that? [00:59:51] Jeremy: Yeah, and I think the, doing it this way, targeting Windows, I mean if you look in the past, even though you had some software that would be ported to other operating systems without this compatibility layer, without people just targeting Windows, all this software that people can now run on these portable gaming handhelds or on Linux, Most of that software was never gonna be ported. So yeah, absolutely. And [01:00:21] Elizabeth: that's [01:00:22] Jeremy: having that as an option. Yeah. [01:00:24] Elizabeth: That's kind of why wine existed, because people wanted to run their software. You know, that was never gonna be ported. They just wanted, and then the community just spent a lot of effort in, you know, making all these individual programs run. Yeah. [01:00:39] Jeremy: I think it's pretty, pretty amazing too that, that now that's become this official way, I suppose, of distributing your software where you say like, Hey, I made a Windows version, but you're on your Linux machine. it's officially supported because, we have this much belief in this compatibility layer. [01:01:02] Elizabeth: it's kind of incredible to see wine having got this far. I mean, I started working on a, you know, six, seven years ago, and even then, I could never have imagined it would be like this. [01:01:16] Elizabeth: So as we, we wrap up, for the developers that are listening or, or people who are just users of wine, um, is there anything you think they should know about the project that we haven't talked about? [01:01:31] Elizabeth: I don't think there's anything I can think of. [01:01:34] Jeremy: And if people wanna learn, uh, more about the wine project or, or see what you're up to, where, where should they, where should they head? Getting support and contributing [01:01:45] Elizabeth: We don't really have any things like news, unfortunately. Um, read the release notes, uh, follow some, there's some, there's some people who, from Code Weavers who do blogs. So if you, so if you go to codeweavers.com/blog, there's some, there's, there's some codeweavers stuff, uh, some marketing stuff. But there's also some developers who will talk about bugs that they are solving and. And how it's easy and, and the experience of working on wine. [01:02:18] Jeremy: And I suppose if, if someone's. Interested in like, like let's say they have a piece of software, it's not working through wine. what's the best place for them to, to either get help or maybe even get involved with, with trying to fix it? [01:02:37] Elizabeth: yeah. Uh, so you can file a bug on, winehq.org,or, or, you know, find, there's a lot of developer resources there and you can get involved with contributing to the software. And, uh, there, there's links to our mailing list and IRC channels and, uh, and, and the GitLab, where all places you can find developers. [01:03:02] Elizabeth: We love to help you. Debug things. We love to help you fix things. We try our very best to be a welcoming community and we have got a long, we've got a lot of experience working with people who want to get their application working. So, we would love to, we'd love to have another. [01:03:24] Jeremy: Very cool. Yeah, I think wine is a really interesting project because I think for, I guess it would've been for decades, it seemed like very niche, like not many people [01:03:37] Jeremy: were aware of it. And now I think maybe in particular because of the, the Linux gaming handhelds, like the steam deck,wine is now something that a bunch of people who would've never heard about it before, and now they're aware of it. [01:03:53] Elizabeth: Absolutely. I've watched that transformation happen in real time and it's been surreal. [01:04:00] Jeremy: Very cool. Well, Elizabeth, thank you so much for, for joining me today. [01:04:05] Elizabeth: Thank you, Jeremy. I've been glad to be here.

Star Trek Strange New Worlds Season 3: Episode 362 - We boldly go where we've gone many times before as your hosts return to their favorite subject - Star Trek! The third season of Strange New Worlds has come and gone, so now we have the delightful task of recording our thoughts and sharing them with you, dear listeners (hopefully not through a mind meld). Is the show hitting greater heights than ever? Or preparing for a crash landing? Tune in to find out on Normies Like Us! Insta: @NormiesLikeUs https://www.instagram.com/normieslikeus/ @jacob https://www.instagram.com/jacob/ @MikeHasInsta https://www.instagram.com/mikehasinsta/ https://letterboxd.com/BabblingBrooksy/ https://letterboxd.com/hobbes72/ https://letterboxd.com/mikejromans/

Listen in as the whole crew is here to share our Strange New Takes on the final three episodes of Strange New Worlds season 3! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A season of “Strange New Worlds” comes to an end, and so does this season of our podcast! But before we go, we have thoughts about Pike and Batel, “Doctor Who” plots, ley lines, parallel timelines, and even “Star Trek: Scouts” and “Star Trek: Khan”! Scott McNulty and Jason Snell.

Jim Gaffigan goes full bourbon nerd at Louisville's Bourbon & Beyond festival and preps a whiskey-themed special. Nate Bargatze opens up about therapy and fame. Patton Oswalt plays a Vulcan despite never watching all of TOS, sheesh.   Plus: Jordan Jensen backlash, Oscar Nunez gets political, Rainn Wilson evacuates (again), Liz Miele drops a new special, and the San Francisco Comedy Competition kicks off.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/daily-comedy-news-with-johnny-mac--4522158/support.Become a premium subscriber! (no ads). For Apple users, hit the banner on your Apple podcasts app which says UNINTERRUPTED LISTENING and the bonus “DCN8” show.You also get 25+ other series  (it's only $4.99 a month with a free-trial month)Contact John at john@thesharkdeck dot com  Media Thoughts is mcdpod.substack.com dailycomedynews.substack.com DCN on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@dailycomedynews https://linktr.ee/dailycomedynews www.buymeacoffee.com/dailycomedynews  

Strange New Worlds “Four-and-a-Half Vulcans”, is an episode that missed the mark despite its intriguing premise. This review dives into the crew's transformation into Vulcans and the ensuing chaos, highlighting standout performances like Melanie Scrofano's Captain Batel amidst the lackluster plot and character inconsistencies. Discover why the episode's attempt at humor and dramatic tension fell flat, and whether its Trekkie nods truly saved it from being excised from the catalog. #StrangeNewWorlds #StarTrek #FourAndAHalfVulcans

Who knew that the opposite of an Arena was an Enemy Mine? Scott McNulty and Jason Snell.

“Four-and-a-Half Vulcans” What's the best way to pass as a Vulcan? Become one! That's what Pike, Uhura, La'an, and Chapel do in order to save a pre-warp civilization without violating the Prime Directive. Doesn't make sense? Don't worry, it's all just a setup for a story that aims to shed light on what goes on in the Vulcan mind. After their one-minute mission is done, the foursome is unable to transform back into humans but finds that they like being Vulcan more. This is a very troubling development for the crew as they watch Nurse Chapel shun all relationships in favor of work, Pike fall in love with 42-minute rotating shifts for more efficient operations, Uhura brainwash her boyfriend, and La'an try to take over the ship and start an interstellar war. The only hope for returning things to normal? A Vulcan called Doug. In this episode of Saddle Up! hosts C Bryan Jones and Matthew Rushing continue our journey through Strange New Worlds with “Four-and-a-Half Vulcans.” We discuss the concept, the setup, the humor, and what each character's situation reveals about Vulcans and themselves. Chapters Intro (0:00:00) First Reactions (00:02:39) All In on Silly (00:14:11) Biology Is Not Culture (00:16:24) Superficially Vulcan (00:24:43) Everyone Has a Soul? (00:29:42) Ideas Out of Focus (00:37:43) Four Facets of Vulcans (00:42:54) Una Digs Doug (00:45:23) And Kirk Shows Up (00:48:43) Final Thoughts and Ratings (00:50:57) Closing (00:57:10) Hosts C Bryan Jones and Matthew Rushing Production C Bryan Jones (Editor and Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer)

On "Phasers Set To Stun," we recognize the popularity of all things Star Trek, with a look at the television shows, animation, movies, and much more. On this week's episode, our crew continues their conversation about the third season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Join us for a recap of episode , Four-and-a-Half Vulcans!For exclusive episodes and content, send some latinum to our Patreon here! You can sign up for a FREE 7-day trial, or sign up for a free membership to get limited access!Check out www.afilmbypodcast.com/ for more information.Email us at afilmbypodcast@gmail.com with your questions, comments, and requests.Find us on X Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @afilmbypodcast.

Union Federation EP.225: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Season 3 - EP.08: "Four-And-A-Half Vulcans" Watch: Fandom Podcast Network YouTube Channel Link: https://www.youtube.com/@FandomPodcastNetwork Listen: Union Federation Audio Podcast Link: https://fpnet.podbean.com/category/union-federation Welcome to the Union Federation Podcast on the Fandom Podcast Network & BQN Network, where we discuss both Star Trek and The Orville. Your Union Federation crew return to Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, with the new (2025) 10 episode season 3! On this  episode we discuss:  Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Season 3 - EP.08: "Four-And-A-Half Vulcans"   Until next time on the Union Federation Podcast, "Live Long & Prosper" & "We Are, Without A Doubt, The Weirdest Ship In The Fleet!"   Union Federation Podcast Contact Info. Hailing frequencies are now open........   Fandom Podcast Network YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@FandomPodcastNetwork   Union Federation: A Star Trek and The Orville Podcast Feed: Link: https://fpnet.podbean.com/category/union-federation   Facebook: The Union Federation: A Star Trek and Orville Podcast Group. Link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/323504344789120   - Fandom Podcast Network Master Audio Feed: https://fpnet.podbean.com/ - Fandom Podcast Network is on ALL major podcasts platforms. - Email: theunionfederation@gmail.com - Instagram: @UnionFederationPodcast / https://www.instagram.com/unionfederationpodcast/ - X (Twitter) : @unionfedpodcast / https://x.com/UnionFedPodcast - Bluesky: @fanpodnetwork / https://bsky.app/profile/fanpodnetwork.bsky.social Host & Guest Contact Info: - Kyle Wagner on X: @AKyleW / Instagram & Threads: @Akylefandom / @akyleW on Discord / @Ksport16: Letterboxd / Blue Sky: @akylew - Amy Nelson on X: @MissAmyNelson / Instagram: @amynelson522 / Bluesky: @bqnpodcasts & @CounselorAmy - Hayley Stoddart on Instagram & Bluesky: @trekkie01D - Kevin Reitzel on X / Instagram / Threads / Discord & Letterboxd: @spartan_phoenix / Bluesky: @spartanphoenix   Where to Find BQN: Instagram: @BQNpodcasts Bluesky: @bqnpodcasts Facebook: The BQN Collective (listener's group) Link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/bqnpodcast   #FandomPodcastNetwork #FPNet #FPN #UnionFederation #UnionFederationPodcast #BQN #StarTrek #StarTrekStrangeNewWorlds #StarTrekStrangeNewWorldsSeason3 #StarTrekStrangeNewWorldsWhatIsStarfleet #FourAndAHalfVulcans #AmyNelson #HayleyStoddart #KyleWagner #KevinReitzel  

Identity, ethics, and comedy collide as SNW turns the crew Vulcan. Dom Bettinelli, Fr. Jason Tyler, and Jimmy Akin ask: Is logic a skill or a serum? Was Uhura's mind-meld fair play?

Yes, we watched it, maman. We saw "Four-and-a-Half Vulcans." Our tears are bitter, maman. Our souls are thin as to be wisped away by a wayward zephyr. We weep for our bodies are malnourished; our spirits are distressed. It is a dark age, maman. We require a bonfire of the inanities.Episode Reviewed: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 3x08 - "Four-and-a-Half Vulcans" Hosts:David C. RobersonMatthew CarrollNote: This episode of Star Trek Universe continues Dave and Matt's ongoing journey discussing Star Trek as they have since the late 1980s.Join Us:Site: http://startrekucast.comApple: http://bit.ly/StuCastSpotify: http://bit.ly/StarTrekUCastSpreaker: http://bit.ly/StuCastSpreakerDavid C. Roberson's Newsletter: https://davidcroberson.substack.com/

Identity, ethics, and comedy collide as SNW turns the crew Vulcan. Dom Bettinelli, Fr. Jason Tyler, and Jimmy Akin ask: Is logic a skill or a serum? Was Uhura's mind-meld fair play? The post Four-and-a-Half Vulcans (SNW) appeared first on StarQuest Media.

Strange New Worlds Review: “Four-and-a-Half Vulcans”Strange New Worlds delivers another comedy-driven episode with “Four-and-a-Half Vulcans.” But does the humor land, or fall flat? We break it all down. Michelle Yeoh on Section 31 Academy Award-winner Michelle Yeoh opens up about the challenges behind bringing Star Trek: Section 31 to life. Starfleet Academy UpdateWe've got the latest news on Starfleet Academy—what fans can expect and where the series stands now. Paramount's Big MovesParamount is making some surprising decisions. Could they reshape the future of Star Trek? All this and more on the galaxy's favorite Star Trek podcast—Trekcast.News:https://sffgazette.com/sci_fi/star-trek/paramount-eyes-expanding-star-trek-original-content-hires-apple-tv-exec-chris-parnell-a9166https://www.ign.com/articles/michelle-yeoh-addresses-star-trek-movie-flop-section-31-its-very-hard-to-please-all-of-your-audience-all-of-the-timehttps://redshirtsalwaysdie.com/star-trek-starfleet-academy-writer-gives-exciting-season-2-updateTrekcast: The Galaxy's Most Unpredictable Star Trek Podcast!Welcome to Trekcast, the galaxy's most unpredictable Star Trek podcast! We're a fan-made show that dives into everything Star Trek, plus all things sci-fi, nerdy, and geeky—covering Star Wars, Marvel, DC Comics, Stargate, and more. But Trekcast isn't just about warp drives and superheroes. If you love dad jokes, rescuing dogs, and even saving bears, you'll fit right in! Expect fun, laughs, and passionate discussions as we explore the ever-expanding universe of fandom. Join us for a wild ride through the stars—subscribe to Trekcast today! Connect with us: trekcasttng@gmail.comLeave us a voicemail - (570) 661-0001‬Check out our merch store at Trekcast.comHelp support the show - ko-fi.com/trekcastBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/star-trek-podcast-trekcast--5651491/support.

An undercover mission requires the crew to take a serum to disguise themselves and hilarity ensues when they refuse to change back. Matt and Pete discern episode 308, “Four-and-a-Half Vulcans.”Thanks as always to everyone who supports the podcast by visiting Patreon.com/PhantasticGeek.Share your feedback by emailing PhantasticGeek@gmail.com, commenting at PhantasticGeek.com, or tweeting @PhantasticGeek.MP3

Jim, A.Ron, and Talitha felt this episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds deep in their katras. A slightly fantastical plan leaves the crew even more logical than usual, but does Captain Pike's new hairstyle really hold up under scrutiny? Our hosts dig into the humor of over-analysis in this season's requisite comedic Star Trek episode. Beam your feedback to startrek@baldmove.com. If you want more Talitha, you can check out her short films here! Earbusters - An Alien: Earth Podcast Foundation and Podcast Bald Move Pulp Bald Move Prestige Hey there!  Check out https://support.baldmove.com/ to find out how you can gain access to ALL of our premium content, as well as ad-free versions of the podcasts! Join the Club! Join the discussion: Email | Discord | Reddit | Forums Follow us: Twitch | YouTube | Twitter  |  Instagram  |  Facebook Leave Us A Review on Apple Podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When the Entrepreneur is the only ship in range to fix a pre-warp Chernobyl, the away team has to become peak Vulcan and unfortunately they decide not to change back. But after destroying both personal and professional lives, Una gets Doug involved and Spock has to dance La'An's katra back to reality. What would look great on The Sphere in Vegas? Where does Pike go when he gets kicked out of his quarters? Who has a very short refractory period? It's the episode that's brokering peace.Support the production of Greatest TrekGet a thing at podshop.biz!Sign up for our mailing list!Greatest Trek is produced by Wynde PriddySocial media is managed by Rob Adler and Bill TilleyMusic by Adam RaguseaFriends of DeSoto for: Labor | Democracy | JusticeDiscuss the show using the hashtag #GreatestTrek and find us on social media:YouTube | Facebook | X | Instagram | TikTok | Mastodon | Bluesky | ThreadsAnd check out these online communities run by FODs: Reddit | USS Hood Discord | Facebook group | Wikia | FriendsOfDeSoto.social

Send us a textPeaches unloads on a wild week in defense news—DARPA drops the mic with the world's biggest real-time electronic warfare range, the U.S. throws pocket change at Panama's border, and NATO still cries poor while leaning on U.S. muscle. From AI-driven target tracking and new Air Force dorm “suites” that'll make Marines jealous, to Space Force finally cutting ties with Russian rocket engines, this episode swings between jaw-dropping tech and head-shaking policy moves. Oh, and we're apparently giving China our AI chips—because what could possibly go wrong? Strap in for sharp takes, a few laughs, and the kind of blunt commentary you won't hear from the Pentagon press office.

Send us a textPeaches kicks off this drop swinging at everything from the chaos in D.C. to the ridiculous idea that military academies ever needed race-based admissions. National Guard troops are back in the capital because apparently it's become Mad Max with monuments. Cyber interns get a salute for their terrifyingly cool hacking skills, a World War I badass gets long-overdue recognition, and Space Force is about to light off the Vulcan rocket like it's the Fourth of July. There's also some sharp-shooting at West Point, desert fun with the Marines, and a not-so-subtle reminder that your enemy doesn't give a damn about your DEI training—they just want you dead. Strap in.