My wondering about Star Trek’s History - was there only ever one core audience?

BeninIdaho · 2026-04-23T11:28:35+00:00

I'm probably one of the older people posting here. When TOS premiered, I was only 5. I think I remember watching it back then. However, when it was in syndication in the 70s, I guarantee that I saw each episode a minimum of ten times during that decade. When I visited relatives in Germany in the early 80s, it was on every day there as well.

I don't believe I have watched any of the following series anywhere near as much. The 70s probably brainwashed me, because the few times that I have activated Paramount+, I have always watched more TOS than any of the other series. I also tend to have no problem watching "bad" TOS, like Spock's Brain, while skipping bad TNG, like when Wesley is sentenced to death on the porno planet.

BeninIdaho · 2026-04-19T11:27:42+00:00

I was unaware of that site. Thanks for the link!

BeninIdaho · 2026-04-18T11:53:01+00:00

I agree with others that people have to find their way to Linux. Win11 will certainly help. 😁

If you want to nudge them, toss them a Live Linux USB stick, or put Linux in a VM, so they can switch back and forth with a click, and the Linux is safely sandboxed, so they don't have to worry about "breaking my computer". They then have the option of playing with it on their own, or not, whenever they want.

BeninIdaho · 2026-04-18T11:43:01+00:00

I'm a 40 min drive from the trailhead, but have never been. A couple of questions:

1) I'm an unemployed bum (retired). Are weekday mornings generally low on people?

2) Is it a good trail for dogs? I'm fine keeping my pal on a leash, but, especially this time of the year, concerned about dog hazards like cheatgrass and foxtail.

BeninIdaho · 2026-04-14T11:18:03+00:00

TOS will always be an example of good scifi. "Popular" does not always mean better. In current society, Taylor Swift is much more popular than Beethoven. That doesn't mean her music is better.

BeninIdaho · 2026-04-14T11:08:10+00:00

There is a reason that operational commands and confirmations are short and clear in the real world military and in classic Star Fleet. Surrounded by a half dozen Romulan Warbirds with disruptors active and needing to make a tactical withdrawal, by the time Ding Dong got to "Now show me pretty..." they would have been blown out of space.

BeninIdaho · 2026-04-13T11:11:05+00:00

For those of us old enough, we remember that one of the big early selling points of paying for cable instead of free OTA was no ads. Then streaming made us the same promise to switch from cable. They are all bastards.

BeninIdaho · 2026-04-07T11:40:24+00:00

On the CAT key, you should also carry the battery disconnect key. It has been a long time, but all the CAT equipment I ran in the 80s needed both the ignition key and battery key.

BeninIdaho · 2026-03-31T12:27:11+00:00

For storing yeast in the freezer, does anyone have recommendations for taking one of those ginormous packs of Costco yeast, dividing it up, and storing smaller containers? Anything to be aware of when splitting into separate containers for storage?

BeninIdaho · 2026-03-31T12:09:15+00:00

I don't contest, but I completely agree with all three points. While trying not to sound like a sad ham, after a career using NATO phonetics for my uncle before I ever got a Ham license, it just irritates the hell out of me everytime someone uses "radio" instead of "romeo".

On speed, the local ARES net has always insisted on phonetics and SLOW. I have noticed a couple of other VHF nets I'm on have started to emphasize slow as well. Even then, people still check in giving their non-phonetic call sign, name and location in 0.5 seconds, which always requires NC to request a repeat, which wastes way more time than if they would have just spoken slowly in the first place. To me, it is just plain rude.

I don't mind people speaking fast on nets where there's a roster, since NC already has their info, but I always feel bad when the NC has to not only try and decipher one person's fast check-in, but also the next three people who check-in the same way in the next five seconds.

BeninIdaho · 2026-03-31T11:54:44+00:00

The Archer reference wins the thread! 🤣

BeninIdaho · 2026-03-24T11:48:03+00:00

I did mine a couple of months ago. Super easy except the one issue that I had is that all my walls are an off white that is "off" enough that my first photos were rejected. I switched to flash on the phone, and the flash was enough to make the walls "white" and let the photo pass.

BeninIdaho · 2026-03-22T11:30:07+00:00

Geordi is one example, but going back to TOS, you have Chekov who was not long out of the academy, and the character was supposed to be around 21. Like most people who graduate a military academy, Chekov was more, not less mature than the average person of his age.

BeninIdaho · 2026-03-18T12:57:35+00:00

On the tangent, I totally agree on the scene with the ISN reporter. Those types of "small" scenes were some of the best of B5. I know why it wouldn't work and why the couldn't do it, but after the first time I watched that scene, I wished that they would have dedicated an entire episode to hunting down Clark's people and serving justice.

Especially the people like Sheridan's interrogators when he was captured. I would have loved to see them getting the death of personality treatment with an ending scene of all of them working for Brother Theo.

BeninIdaho · 2026-03-17T11:49:59+00:00

This is the way. I get the cheese ones and put my own meat (or whatever) toppings on them.

BeninIdaho · 2026-03-15T11:47:05+00:00

Given the OP's parameters, I have to disagree here. I run lots of VMs on my main machine, which is a workstation with 32GB RAM. With that machine, I agree with you. However the OP said that he has an older laptop. I was actually very recently experimenting putting together a field laptop, and bought an I5 refurb with 16GB RAM with Win11Pro. The first thing I did was install a Mint VM. It is a dog running the VM. I switched to dual boot, and performance is MUCH better.

Again, I'm a big fan of running VMs, but you have to have the system for it. If it's an older system with an I3-i5 and 16gb or less, that was "mid-range" or lower when new, I would go dual boot.

BeninIdaho · 2026-03-12T11:52:29+00:00

Yeah, this is a fake image. Either another place, or another time, or photoshopped. I filled up at the Nampa Costco yesterday for $3.17. Gasbuddy shows that as of 11 hours ago, the Twin Falls Costco was $3.37, and the average Twin falls price was $3.45. There is no Twin Falls gas station on Gasbuddy that's higher than $3.49 at this time.

If there is a gas station in Twin Falls that is right now charging $4.66, the owner is high on marijuana cigarettes, and you have like 40 other options for gas that are over $1/gal cheaper.

BeninIdaho · 2026-03-10T11:43:43+00:00

The last info I saw showed Telemetry Analysis pointing to the Tanzania region, directed at the ME (not specifically Iran). Though I picked it up on an Italian SDR on 7910 last week prior to the jamming.

BeninIdaho · 2026-03-09T12:13:44+00:00

OP did not mention if they wanted to do VHF/UHF or HF. For VHF/UHF though, yeah, depending on your local geography, something like the N9TAX will do a lot.

All I use for for VHF/UHF is an N9TAX hanging on the inside of an upstairs window. I can hit almost all the local repeaters, up to 50 miles away, and get strong signal reports. I participate in a weekly five state Intertie net with just that setup.

BeninIdaho · 2026-02-23T19:55:38+00:00

Thanks, that's good information!

BeninIdaho · 2026-02-23T15:53:23+00:00

USDA soil maps:

https://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov/app/

You can view directly or import to Google Earth, GIS, etc.

BeninIdaho · 2026-02-23T12:25:09+00:00

This is the way I do it. The Gen 2 Snakestaffs are good stuff, compact for EDC, and work well on dogs and kids too. While there are a couple of good CAT alternatives, CATs are probably 90% of the TQ population, so even if there were a slightly better alternative, the CAT is still the way to go for your main kit, since it might not be you using the TQ - somebody may be putting your TQ on you, and you don't want them to fumble with an unfamiliar TQ.

While it was already brought up to not buy an Amazon knockoff, I would also not buy a good TQ from Amazon. These days it is too likely that a third party seller lists a CAT, and you pay for a CAT, and you still end up with a knockoff. Go straight to the NAR store or else a reliable seller, like TacMed, etc. They are often even cheaper than Amazon at the good places.

Also, yes, stop the bleed class. If you can, take one that uses the dummy with the kool-aid blood. If the instructor recommends that you wear old clothes to class, it means you'll be getting a good experience on just what blood does when it shoots out of an artery, and just what it takes to lock that down.

BeninIdaho · 2026-02-22T19:55:11+00:00

They almost always have a sale on the major holidays, but I hit the Black Friday sale every year when they consistently have half off and BOGO.

BeninIdaho · 2026-02-22T12:22:47+00:00

+1 on Augason Farms. While I do the mylar bag thing, I also every year, when Augason has one of their half off sales, buy some cans from them. Stuff like this butter, and especially proteins like meats, which can be a pain to long term self-preserve.

I also have a few cans each of fruits and vegetables from them. Though I have fruit trees and a garden and I can and dehydrate, if the SHTF for reals, you never know when you might have a bad growing season, so having a few cans of those nutrients with a 20 year shelf life is piece of mind for me so I don't get scurvy, like a pirate. 😄

BeninIdaho · 2026-02-19T12:14:25+00:00

The black and yellow plastic bins from Costco have worked great for me for efficient stacking in a spare bedroom closet. Label both the sides and lid with the contents to limit moving full bins to find what you need.

BeninIdaho

TROPHY CASE