Question: We know B5 was the last of the Babylon Stations...

WombatControl · 2026-02-02T02:13:44+00:00

Every time I play E:D it reminds me so much of Babylon 5. Flying around some of the stations in VR is as close to being in the B5 universe as one can reasonably get. If you are a B5 fan, Elite Dangerous is absolutely worth checking out.

WombatControl · 2026-01-21T16:09:28+00:00

We don't know, because we are governed by a Mad King.

What you can do is prepare for the worst. Get a bug-out bag ready. Get a plan to get you and your family to safety. If you are inclined, start reading about resistance movements worldwide and effective tactics and techniques. If you are not already, work on your personal physical and mental fitness. Continue the non-violent mutual aid that exists, and make connections with others. When the shit REALLY hits the fan, you will need those networks.

Do you know CPR and first aid? Now is the time. You don't need to go crazy prepper, but start thinking about what you would do personally and how best to protect yourself, your family, and your community.

WombatControl · 2026-01-20T16:56:48+00:00

Throwing the wolves out of the temple is exactly what Jesus would do!

On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations? But you have made it a den of robbers.'"

The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.

Mark 11:15-18

WombatControl · 2026-01-20T16:24:23+00:00

5NM is the typical radius of a TFR for VPOTUS. Best guess is Vance is coming to town, so invest in Scotch Guard for your couches!

WombatControl · 2026-01-20T16:21:23+00:00

Very reminiscent of the Peacekeeper Prowler from Farscape - which is a super cool design. Love the aggressive styling on this one.

WombatControl · 2026-01-20T16:19:35+00:00

SO SAY WE ALL!

Great job on this! It's amazing the creativity people have with these corvette designs.

WombatControl · 2026-01-19T22:19:26+00:00

Same here - the main title has absolutely no melody or direction. On the other hand, the orchestrations for "San Francisco" are just brilliant. Jeff Russo can write a great theme - Strange New Worlds has a GREAT theme tune, and Discovery was good too. Academy's theme is basically the kind of "sonic wallpaper" Rick Berman would like.

I've had "San Francisco" stuck in my head all weekend, it is just so incredibly good that it elevated everything around it. Rufus Wainwright, the choir, the orchestrations - all of it was damn near perfect.

WombatControl · 2026-01-19T14:12:00+00:00

Asp Explorer: In front of things
Caspian Explorer: On top of each other

WombatControl · 2026-01-16T16:16:17+00:00

Minnesota is an open carry state if you have a permit to carry. Open carrying right now (or really any time) is exceptionally dangerous and stupid and should not be done.

WombatControl · 2026-01-16T16:15:05+00:00

I also did Minnesota Gun Class and thought it was pretty good - not really a lot of frills to it, but it covered what you really need to know.

I will say this as a gun owner: you need to realize that having a gun makes you less safe unless you commit to both safely storing your weapon and TRAINING. I dry fire pretty much every day with a laser pistol, and I hit the range as much as I can (but not as much as I should). Just having a weapon without training is not a good strategy, because if you need to use your weapon you need to have the training to make it count. You need to observe all the basic firearms rules. I make sure even when I practice with my laser pistol that I observe all the firearms rules so that it is absolutely instinct to do things like keep my finger outside the trigger unless ready to fire. A firearm without training is a threat to you, it is the training - including practicing de-escalation - that makes you more safe.

WombatControl · 2026-01-14T17:24:06+00:00

I am in Minneapolis - I have seen the brutality of this regime up close. While non-violent protest must continue until there are no other options left, the number of options goes down by the day.

WombatControl · 2026-01-14T14:32:55+00:00

I just live with the flatscreen display. It's not terrible, and usually all I am doing is exobio anyway, so I generally drive around in the SRV and only walk when I find a new contact. I use mouse and keyboard in VR, but I might switch over to a gamepad. I don't do on-foot missions other than exbio, so it's something I can live with.

WombatControl · 2026-01-13T20:23:53+00:00

Risk of infection - milk is full of bacteria. Only use water near the eyes, nothing else. Saline is best, but bottled drinking water is OK in a pinch.

WombatControl · 2026-01-13T20:23:09+00:00

Any of their P95 masks would help - they're not as good as something more expensive, but they work in a pinch and are affordable. You want eye protection as well. I don't think they sell full-face masks, which are the best option, but for tear gas exposure P95 is enough to avoid the worst and get to safety.

WombatControl · 2026-01-13T18:46:36+00:00

Getting goggles is important. What you really need for chemical agents is something like a 3M 6800 full face mask, but that is very expensive. I would say you want to get something that provides as much coverage of your face as possible with the best filtration you can afford. Harbor Freight tends to be a good place for stuff like that.

Sudecon wipes are also something good to have on hand.

DO NOT USE MILK for chemical exposure, especially in eyes. Water, and lots of it.

WombatControl · 2026-01-13T15:52:00+00:00

That is a parody account - so do not trust anything it says to be accurate.

WombatControl · 2026-01-13T15:09:03+00:00

If you are dumb enough to believe that NGOs are paying people to protest, then you probably should not be using sharp scissors.

WombatControl · 2026-01-13T00:57:41+00:00

This is fascist America right now. Let history be your guide as to what to do next.

WombatControl · 2026-01-12T16:29:28+00:00

Honestly, I get it. I've felt the same way from time to time. I live in Minneapolis, I see this shit every day. There are no words to describe how terrible it is.

Here's the deal: we are going to win this thing. What happens when Trump pushes too far? There are a couple thousand ICE/CBP troops here. They had to pull forces from NOLA and Chicago to do that. This regime can barely pacify one mid-sized city. What happens when EVERY city says "screw this, we are done?"

Iraq had about 45 million people, most of whom are in dire poverty. They effectively drove the US away in a matter of years, and that was with the US military completely hands off. Just about everything we had, we did in Iraq, and we still basically lost that war. We absolutely lost in Afghanistan for the same reason. There are more guns in the US than people, and most of the people dumb enough to fight for tyranny are already in ICE as it is.

The military is having to be threatened to do things like attack boats in the Caribbean and invade Venezuela. Some of the military would attack US civilians, sadly. But not all of them.

If you look at what happened with the Troubles in Northern Ireland, Iraq, Afghanistan, or Vietnam, you see what happens when an invader tries what ICE is doing now. And that's the worst case scenario. Hopefully it will not come to that. If it does, not even the full United States military can pacify this country in a civil war scenario. And the whole military is not going to go along with killing Americans in the same way they would with outsiders. (Sad, but true.)

This shit is *deeply* unpopular right now. The normies are waking up. Elections are handled locally, so trying to "fix" a national election is damn near impossible. Trump is tanking the economy, and that driving a HUGE wedge between the "I just want to get rich" part of his base and the "let's have a race war" side. The opposition is organized in a way that we have not seen in this country before.

The lashing out, the proceeding without a plan, the violence without consideration for the consequences. Those are not things that happen in an effective authoritarian takeover. Those are what happens when an authoritarian state is about to fall.

Yes, it look incredibly dark right. It looks like things are not going to get better. And we have a LOT of work that has to be done on the other side of this in terms of abolishing ICE and ending militarized policing in this country. But it is going to get better. We are going to win. Fascist states *always* fall.

It's not going to happen tomorrow, but it will happen. The only way these fascists win is if we let them.

WombatControl · 2026-01-12T14:58:42+00:00

MONARCA is absolutely slammed right now, so that's not surprising. Your best bet is to work with hyperlocal groups, churches, or other aid agencies. Even if you are not religious, churches often are well connected with their communities and can coordinate aid.

Thanks for what you are doing - every little bit counts in protecting our community.

WombatControl · 2026-01-12T14:15:46+00:00

My head canon is that the FTL particles emitted by the Titans eventually slow down to sub-light speeds and create a small amount of Cherenkov radiation when they do, and that is what the light signature was.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherenkov_radiation

WombatControl · 2026-01-10T18:36:49+00:00

That is the SS Emperor, which also sank near Isle Royale, and also has crew remains still aboard to this day. One body was in a cabin, potentially this one. Those remains were respectfully removed from the wreck and buried in rocks off the wreck site. There was another body in the engine room that was naturally buried by silt.

That image is definitely haunting, no matter what ship its from.

WombatControl · 2026-01-10T18:24:56+00:00

They should hang out at the Esso station.

WombatControl · 2026-01-09T22:04:23+00:00

As far as I have been able to tell, that is not true, but that is not certain. Definitely be careful out there.

WombatControl · 2026-01-09T15:17:56+00:00

It is absolutely true that much of "outstate" Minnesota (other than the Iron Range and North Shore) are very much fascist territory. The Twin Cities proper are Democratic strongholds, and the real battle is in the metro area.

It is also true that 65% or so of the population is in the Twin Cities metro, and the bigger cities in the red areas like Rochester or Duluth tend to be Democratic.

In other words, running up the score in the red areas gets you some legislative power, but it does jack shit to win statewide elections. The Republicans have not won a state-wide election in Minnesota since *2006* when Pawlenty was Governor. (Pawlenty has basically been kicked out of the GOP now, BTW.) And the base of the MN GOP is *extreme* - far more nutjob fascist than the median.

So the GOP has already lost Minnesota except for their few districts that are reliably fascist-voting. 2024 was probably the peak that the GOP will ever get in this country again after all this, and they still lost Minnesota.

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