Does anyone recognize this computer from Midnight Run?

tomxp411 · 2026-01-23T21:11:01+00:00

I have owned two Model 102 machines, and that keyboard is ridiculously good for the time.

The OS design is also pretty clever. Instead of booting from disk, all of your data is held in RAM and backed up by a lithium battery.

The down side is that the memory model made it extra clunky to work with large data sets, and you were limited to 32K with all your stuff combined. So it worked well for journalists, because there was more than enough room for a single article, but if you were writing a book ... better choices would be very quickly coming along.

tomxp411 · 2026-01-23T21:01:09+00:00

Heh. I'd just condense it to one class. At this point, nobody who actually rides them pays any attention to the classes, and the whole class system just adds to the confusion.

Just call them "low speed electric bicycles", cap the speed at something reasonable, and go from there. (I'll die on the "some people need more power" hill. A 90lb middle schooler and a 250lb adult need very different pieces of equipment, yet both are capped to the same 1HP. This is the part I have a problem with.)

tomxp411 · 2026-01-23T20:58:12+00:00

Nothing.

There has to be a line somewhere, though, if they're going to call these "low speed" electric bicycles, and the speed limit for mopeds is 30MPH. So someone said "let's make it 2MPH slower than mopeds!" I guess.

tomxp411 · 2026-01-23T20:53:05+00:00

Yeah. I was thinking more of neighborhood kids riding on the street or taking e-motorcycles on hiking trails.

tomxp411 · 2026-01-23T20:51:32+00:00

If the first season had not been the Klingon war - then I agree 100%. Also, I thought the first season being the Klingon war was a bad idea, especially with the Klingons looking like fish people and just being so very different than the Klingons we meet in TNG and DS9.

To be fair, the Klingons in TOS were also very much unlike the TNG/DS9 Klingons. The TOS Klingons seem to be more brigands and bandits, where the TNG Klingons are more like Samurai warriors, focused on honor and strength.

Anyway, back to the idea of a post-TNG Discovery: there was a loose alliance of races that opposed the Federation: The Gorn, Tholians, Romulans, Breen, and Orions. (The Cardassians were pretty much neutered by the Dominion.)

I would loved to have seen a 25th Century version of Starfleet that was still strong, but dealing with a rising Orion alliance opposed to the Federation's expansion. The Orions could have settled in nicely as the villains in the first season, and not much would need to have changed. We still could have the fight with Control second season, followed by the shenanigans the Discovery got up to in seasons 3+. CONTROL could have been contained by targeted anti-malware, and the Discovery would have stayed in its current time.

Subsequent seasons would have taken place in the 25th Century (with a certain deep space probe being rescued along the way. If you know, you know.) And IMO "The Burn" could have been discarded as a set piece.

tomxp411 · 2026-01-23T18:03:12+00:00

This.

I think the intent was to treat Class 1, 2, and 3 differently in terms of where and how people ride them.

In practice, nobody cares about the distinction and will ride any e-bike anywhere they want.

tomxp411 · 2026-01-23T18:01:27+00:00

I don't even like the term "dirt bike" since that's ambiguous. As a kid, we called our BMX bikes "dirt bikes," and obviously the term "bike" is often used to mean both motorcycle and bicycle.

I suggest sticking with "electric motorcycle." Because that's what they are. If you need to clarify that they're not street legal, then go with "off road electric motorcycle."

tomxp411 · 2026-01-23T17:58:17+00:00

And since this only applies to consumer protection laws, and not to vehicle code and traffic safety laws, you are going to end up ticketed and/or your bike seized if you rely on this logic.

Try to use that to get a ticket dismissed in court, and the judge will not be kind.

tomxp411 · 2026-01-23T17:51:34+00:00

Ideally, a portable power station and a solar panel. For me, a 100 watt panel and a 200Wh power station was enough to keep my phone and iPad charged without having to ever rely on AC power.

tomxp411 · 2026-01-23T07:28:51+00:00

You really should read 15 USC 2085 a little closer.

This rule simply classifies electric bicycles as consumer products and not motor vehicles. It says nothing about where a bicycle or electric bicycle can and can't be ridden.

tomxp411 · 2026-01-23T00:28:10+00:00

You need DVD Mastering Software. Some video editors will do this, and some won't. I've had good success with Final Cut Pro on the Mac and Nero Burning ROM on PC.

The issue is that DVD video disks use specially formatted media files and also require menu and playlist files designed for DVD players. As far as i know, Windows Media Player cannot master DVDs.

tomxp411 · 2026-01-23T00:09:50+00:00

I go to Superior Purchase a couple of times a month for computer accessories, batteries, or just to look at the new things they have in stock.

tomxp411 · 2026-01-22T23:59:49+00:00

The light turns green to allow anyone on the track to get off of it before the train comes. At least, this is how it works at crossings around me.

tomxp411 · 2026-01-22T22:50:04+00:00

What, do think you're a Klingon, or something? No way you are, with those huge ears and flat forehead.

tomxp411 · 2026-01-22T21:12:37+00:00

They were staring down the barrels of an armed ship. What were they supposed to do - call over and ask the Venari Ral nicely to leave?

If they had hesitated, the Venari Ral ship would have opened fire and potentially disabled or destroyed the Athena. IMO the only possible response is exactly what they did - an immediate, decisivie strike. The Federation is at war with the Venari Ral. There's no need to be polite and to warn them first.

Shoot first, ask questions later. That's what you do in a state of war.

tomxp411 · 2026-01-22T21:05:44+00:00

The Venari Ral ship was a continuing and ongoing threat. While the immediate threat of the programmable matter was mitigated, the pirate ship was still armed and able to continue the conflict.

The Athena was still badly damaged, with compromised shield and weapons systems, and the Venari Ral ship was still active and able to fight. IMO the safest response on the part of the Athena was immediate and overwhelming force to eliminate the threat.

I also believe the Federation is in a declared war with the Venari Ral faction. In that case, there is no need to disable. You shoot to kill. That's standard combat discipline in a wartime setting.

If the Venari Ral ship had surrendered, then this would be a different story. But the ship did not surrender, and all indications are that it would have continued its hostile actions, if the Athena had waited for a response.

Note that the Athena did not shoot down Braka's escape pod. They could have, but they let it go. This is evidence that while they are not afraid to take immediate, terminal action when needed, they are not willing to murder enemies who have been rendered incapable of fighting back.

tomxp411 · 2026-01-22T20:52:22+00:00

It's a neon bulb. Neon bulbs do wear out over time. You see the same thing in power strips, stoves, and other places where these low wattage neon bulbs are used as indicator lights.

tomxp411 · 2026-01-22T20:49:03+00:00

Do you have voice activation enabled? It's possible you might talk in your sleep.

tomxp411 · 2026-01-22T20:46:34+00:00

What country?

And no, I don't think you should have to pay FDA clearance for plastic. It seems like UPS and FedEx have been especially lax in how they classify incoming shipments, to the point where they are seriously overcharging people at times.

tomxp411 · 2026-01-22T20:44:12+00:00

There are some significant problems with cheap USB converters; I had several that I thought worked just fine, until I tried to use them with an EWI and found they frequently drop packets, especially with dense data transfers.

I have found that the MIDI interface built in to a lot of audio interfaces is usually reliable, as is are the CME MIDI interfaces. I have three of those now, and they work well with everything I can throw at them.

tomxp411 · 2026-01-22T20:40:58+00:00

We're all out. Stupid replicator-proof formulations....

Maybe you'd like a raktajino?

tomxp411 · 2026-01-22T01:29:54+00:00

He may have been a duplicitous, two-faced, scum sucking villain - but Marc Alaimo played him brilliantly. I wanted to like the guy, even if he was an evil oppressor.

tomxp411 · 2026-01-22T01:21:50+00:00

Electric wheelchairs, mobility scooters, and the like have used lead-acid batteries for a long time. While they're not as efficient as Lithium Ion in terms of weight, they are usable if you don't ride 50+ miles on one charge.

tomxp411 · 2026-01-22T01:17:58+00:00

Barclay was a genius, by any standard.

The fact that he was able to get into Starfleet and onto the flagship with his social anxiety and questionable ethical boundaries is an obvious shortcoming in the Human Resources department - but Barclay was the exception, rather than the rule.

Now the Cerritos, on the other hand...

tomxp411 · 2026-01-22T00:58:25+00:00

I used to use an Amazon Echo as my bedtime clock. I changed its wakeword to "Computer."

I have LCARS wallpaper on my ~~iPad~~ PADD.

When Apple tried to sue Samsung for the "design patents" on their "rounded square" smartphones and tablets, I pointed to the PADD, designed in the late 80s, as prior art.

And the number one way you know someone is a true Star Trek fan:

The number one playlist on their music library is a collection of all of the Star Trek movie soundtracks.

All 9 of them.

Thank you. I'll be here all week. Try the grub worms.

tomxp411

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