Due South Anniversaries
Mar. 10th, 2025 11:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ride_4ever reminded me that Due South fans may want to note the recurrence of the Eleventh of March tomorrow.ride_4ever reminded me that Due South fans may want to note the recurrence of the Eleventh of March tomorrow.
Checking In - 28 Jan 2025
Jan. 28th, 2025 07:34 amI just self-tested again, and I still seem to be avoiding/delaying my second COVID-19 infection. So that's good news.
I'm scheduled to be laid off because end-of-contract on March 14th. This will have been a personal best at 15 months' steady work. That should improve the odds of being (re)hired somewhat.
The science-fiction club Zoom meeting last night fizzled due to various issues, so we're going to try again in two weeks.
I'm up to working on four map projects with the Tranquility Press fanfic collective.
More later.
I'm scheduled to be laid off because end-of-contract on March 14th. This will have been a personal best at 15 months' steady work. That should improve the odds of being (re)hired somewhat.
The science-fiction club Zoom meeting last night fizzled due to various issues, so we're going to try again in two weeks.
I'm up to working on four map projects with the Tranquility Press fanfic collective.
More later.
Trek: DSC Season 5 Launch Note
Apr. 4th, 2024 09:50 pmTurns out that CTV Sci-Fi is running two episodes of Star Trek: Discovery back-to-back tonight.
I am NOT staying up until 1130 PM to watch the whole 2.5 hours' worth. That can wait for tomorrow or Saturday night, I think. I need to have *some* kind of regular sleep, after all.
I am NOT staying up until 1130 PM to watch the whole 2.5 hours' worth. That can wait for tomorrow or Saturday night, I think. I need to have *some* kind of regular sleep, after all.
For a sense of what I've been doing:
https://mastodon.social/@DEWLine/110897185618929509
It's fun, digging through HYGMap, SIMBAD, Memory Alpha, Memory Beta, and a few other sites as well for this stuff.
https://mastodon.social/@DEWLine/110897185618929509
It's fun, digging through HYGMap, SIMBAD, Memory Alpha, Memory Beta, and a few other sites as well for this stuff.
Trek: Fanfiction of High Interest
Jul. 7th, 2023 08:52 pmTwo things I'd ask you to look into if you're into Trekkish fanfic:
The Wolf 359 Project
https://mastodon.social/@wolf359project@tenforward.social/110656213379252895
The Edge of Midnight: A Narrative of the Federation-Klingon Cold War (2256-2293)
https://edgeofmidnight.weebly.com/
The Wolf 359 Project
https://mastodon.social/@wolf359project@tenforward.social/110656213379252895
The Edge of Midnight: A Narrative of the Federation-Klingon Cold War (2256-2293)
https://edgeofmidnight.weebly.com/
RIP: Gordon Pinsent
Feb. 25th, 2023 10:51 pmSo it's finally happened.
I was kind of hoping he'd live just long enough to be in an Alpha Flight movie. I don't know which character would have been a good fit, mind you...
And for the record, I did get to meet him once, at the Magnetic North festival. I thanked him for Bob Fraser (Due South) and Duff McArdle (Power Play).
https://www.cbc.ca/1.6760868
I was kind of hoping he'd live just long enough to be in an Alpha Flight movie. I don't know which character would have been a good fit, mind you...
And for the record, I did get to meet him once, at the Magnetic North festival. I thanked him for Bob Fraser (Due South) and Duff McArdle (Power Play).
https://www.cbc.ca/1.6760868
Recovering Fandom Histories
Jan. 9th, 2023 01:21 pmWe have a request for info here from a Vera Tobin:
https://mastodon.social/@vtobin/109655586118908954
She's apparently looking to pull (back) together to whatever degree possible some of the archival stuff of pre-Usenet fandom.
https://mastodon.social/@vtobin/109655586118908954
She's apparently looking to pull (back) together to whatever degree possible some of the archival stuff of pre-Usenet fandom.
So I got a bit of good luck with today's eye exam: my sight hasn't worsened. My back-of-the-one-eyeball issue is still stable. I got a one-third discount on the price of that eye exam. And despite missing the bus I hoped to take home from that, I caught another one within two minutes when I was expecting to wait half an hour. So I started thinking today was a good day.
Then, I get home, log into Twitter, and find out about George Pérez's health news.
Then, I look at the solidarity among other artists and among fans in response to that news.
For all the other troubles of the world, yeah, all of *that* has been wearing me down. But that solidarity?
Then, I get home, log into Twitter, and find out about George Pérez's health news.
Then, I look at the solidarity among other artists and among fans in response to that news.
For all the other troubles of the world, yeah, all of *that* has been wearing me down. But that solidarity?
Happier Birthdays, fajrdrako!
Sep. 24th, 2021 02:30 pmWe've been on speaking terms for decades. I'm grateful to have illustrated a couple of your APAzines in times past and glad to still count you among my friends, and may you have more and happier birthdays to come!
Star Trek Day 55
Sep. 8th, 2021 08:12 amSo, Wil Wheaton's hosting a big live-stream event for CBS tonight to unveil the latest news re: the five Trek series now in production and/or about to air episodes.
Seems like a good thing to set up a space here to discuss whatever gets revealed.
Seems like a good thing to set up a space here to discuss whatever gets revealed.
One More Monday Night
Aug. 30th, 2021 06:21 pmOkay, so I've got a Zoom meeting with Ottawa SF Society - OSFS - people in a little over half an hour as I type this. If you want in on these things, we have a mailing list you can sign up for and chat with other OSFS members about. Contact and sign-up details over here. We're trying to stay compliant with the various forms of privacy law here, and we figure it's better to advertise and be ignored than to sign people up by ambush.
Playing e-mail tag with the company set up to sell me a new CPAP machine instead of the one I've been borrowing for the last eight months. Among other issues related thereto.
Lower Decks is okay, for Trek shows, cartoons, and sitcoms. I'm not sure it's been a wise idea to roll all three - Trek, animation and sitcom - into one TV series, but it does seem to be finding its own dedicated audience. I'm uncomfortable with the idea of trying to chase them off and shut the show down out of some misguided loyalty to "pure" Trek, whatever that is.
Picked up some comics over the weekend. Mostly catching up on stuff I've been missing.
More as it comes to mind.
Playing e-mail tag with the company set up to sell me a new CPAP machine instead of the one I've been borrowing for the last eight months. Among other issues related thereto.
Lower Decks is okay, for Trek shows, cartoons, and sitcoms. I'm not sure it's been a wise idea to roll all three - Trek, animation and sitcom - into one TV series, but it does seem to be finding its own dedicated audience. I'm uncomfortable with the idea of trying to chase them off and shut the show down out of some misguided loyalty to "pure" Trek, whatever that is.
Picked up some comics over the weekend. Mostly catching up on stuff I've been missing.
More as it comes to mind.
Starting 26 July 2021
Jul. 26th, 2021 09:38 amJob search continues this morning. Also, I've got the TV tuned to CBC News for the installation ceremony of Mary Simon/Ningiukudluk as Governor-General of Canada. Watching today's Ottawa Police Services Board meeting will have to wait for tomorrow, probably. Especially if I take in the Zoom meeting of the Ottawa Science-Fiction Society tonight after supper.
Maybe I go get that second vaccination dose tomorrow.
More as it develops...
Third Monday - July 2021
Jul. 19th, 2021 06:52 pmAs I type this, I am also in attendance of the virtual edition of Third Monday, a gathering of fandoms over Zoom, mostly based in metro Toronto. Good people, and I'm grateful for the remote access to such gatherings.
Notes About Sunday
Jul. 19th, 2021 01:36 pmSearching and researching resumed this morning.
Although, to be honest, the job alerts I've subscribed to via Indeed, Jobilico, Workopolis and the Canadian federal job bank never stop, not even on statutory holidays. So I find myself spending at least an hour a day on weekends and holidays looking at those alone, no matter if I click on any links or not.
I went down to the ByWard Market on Sunday. It's been over a month since my last visit, and I worried that Globe Mags and Cigars and Mags Plus were both finally defunct. I am pleased to report that the first of these is still in business selling newspapers, magazines, and (not so pleased to say the same about) assorted smokeables and related gear. Google Maps tells me Mags Plus on Rideau Street - about a block or so east of ByTowne Cinema - is still active, and I wasn't about to push my luck by personally confirming that as well.
I was amused by the displays currently active at the LEGO Store at the Rideau Centre: the Disney Castle, a replica of a classic Adidas running shoe(!), the apartments of Friends, and a four-story Marvel-authorized Daily Bugle playset, with twenty-five figures of assorted Marvel characters. Both Spider-Men, Parker and Morales. "Spider-Gwen" AKA Ghost-Spider from Earth-65. Daredevil. Firestar. Even Spider-Ham! Venom, Carnage, Doctor Octopus (Otto, not Carolyn), Sandman, "Green Goblin" Osborn, and a few others. Probably runs to C$500 to take that one home, and Marvel fan though I am, I am not that fanatic nor anywhere near that wealthy.
Still waiting for the advisory to go to the pharmacy to get dose # 2. I'm on their e-mail list for this, so that notice should be soon. Perhaps before the end of the week?
Have received word from Lloyd Penney that there will be physical and online components to "Third Monday" tonight, the latter for those of us unable/unwilling to visit Orwell's in Toronto in person. This is good news, I think.
Hoping to see Black Widow next week, finances and health/safety rules permitting. I do continue to read the current ongoing comics series that inspired the movie. Both Natasha and Yelena are core cast members in the comic book series, which is currently set in San Francisco. You should be able to just drop in on the story arc in progress without too much trouble.
More as it occurs to me.
Although, to be honest, the job alerts I've subscribed to via Indeed, Jobilico, Workopolis and the Canadian federal job bank never stop, not even on statutory holidays. So I find myself spending at least an hour a day on weekends and holidays looking at those alone, no matter if I click on any links or not.
I went down to the ByWard Market on Sunday. It's been over a month since my last visit, and I worried that Globe Mags and Cigars and Mags Plus were both finally defunct. I am pleased to report that the first of these is still in business selling newspapers, magazines, and (not so pleased to say the same about) assorted smokeables and related gear. Google Maps tells me Mags Plus on Rideau Street - about a block or so east of ByTowne Cinema - is still active, and I wasn't about to push my luck by personally confirming that as well.
I was amused by the displays currently active at the LEGO Store at the Rideau Centre: the Disney Castle, a replica of a classic Adidas running shoe(!), the apartments of Friends, and a four-story Marvel-authorized Daily Bugle playset, with twenty-five figures of assorted Marvel characters. Both Spider-Men, Parker and Morales. "Spider-Gwen" AKA Ghost-Spider from Earth-65. Daredevil. Firestar. Even Spider-Ham! Venom, Carnage, Doctor Octopus (Otto, not Carolyn), Sandman, "Green Goblin" Osborn, and a few others. Probably runs to C$500 to take that one home, and Marvel fan though I am, I am not that fanatic nor anywhere near that wealthy.
Still waiting for the advisory to go to the pharmacy to get dose # 2. I'm on their e-mail list for this, so that notice should be soon. Perhaps before the end of the week?
Have received word from Lloyd Penney that there will be physical and online components to "Third Monday" tonight, the latter for those of us unable/unwilling to visit Orwell's in Toronto in person. This is good news, I think.
Hoping to see Black Widow next week, finances and health/safety rules permitting. I do continue to read the current ongoing comics series that inspired the movie. Both Natasha and Yelena are core cast members in the comic book series, which is currently set in San Francisco. You should be able to just drop in on the story arc in progress without too much trouble.
More as it occurs to me.
Some discussion about the European Union's General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) is begun here:
https://jayblanc.dreamwidth.org/285284.html
The Winnipeg bid committee may want to keep this in mind.
Back to watching for thunderstorm news...
https://jayblanc.dreamwidth.org/285284.html
The Winnipeg bid committee may want to keep this in mind.
Back to watching for thunderstorm news...
No CAN-CON for 2021
May. 14th, 2021 07:35 pmSad, but necessary, I think. If things get better faster than we expect, I imagine that solutions to take advantage will be found. In the meantime...
From Twitter:
https://twitter.com/CanConSF/status/1393231570673324044
From the convention website, care of co-chairs Derek Kunsken and Marie Bilodeau:
https://can-con.org/co-chair-message-cancon-2021/
From Twitter:
https://twitter.com/CanConSF/status/1393231570673324044
From the convention website, care of co-chairs Derek Kunsken and Marie Bilodeau:
https://can-con.org/co-chair-message-cancon-2021/
From Lloyd Penney by way of MonSFFA:
http://www.monsffa.ca/?p=17308
Also, re: Boréal...
https://congresboreal.ca/
http://www.monsffa.ca/?p=17308
Also, re: Boréal...
https://congresboreal.ca/
Weekending
Mar. 27th, 2021 09:28 amI figure on checking in on Can-Con's "How to Build a Space Habitat" video chat this afternoon.
Tonight, my party's riding association has a fundraising "Trivia Night" event.
Lots of stuff to do from home today.
Tonight, my party's riding association has a fundraising "Trivia Night" event.
Lots of stuff to do from home today.
Following up on a discussion begun in September 2020. This time around, the focus is Helvetica Ultra-Compressed and its knockoff, Swiss 911 Ultra Compressed.
Also, the commentary is going to wander a bit, because like the previous installment, TV space-adventure shows past and present are involved.
If you were a Star Trek fan back during the late 1980's and most of the 1990's, you knew this typeface almost on sight, because about halfway through The Next Generation's run, Starfleet had switched over from Compacta Bold + Compressed and at least one lesser-known font to this one for their LCARS user interface screens. Deep Space Nine and Voyager also made heavy use of it for the same reasons. Swiss 911 UC was probably easier to afford at the time. I haven't asked the question of graphic designer/tech advisor Mike Okuda, to be honest, of how the switch happened and why.
Both Compacta and Helvetica/Swiss are - to my eyes - legible, which is what you want in a font that Starfleet's decided to make part of its operational standards kit.
Other knockoffs have been made that were easier still to buy, or just download as freebies in some cases. I'd argue that the ease of that made entry for thousands of would-be graphic designers a trivial matter.
But it started with that particular weight and style of Helvetica.
This past year or so, the TNG/DS9/VOY timeframe has been revisited by way of Picard and more recently, Lower Decks. The latter enthusiastically dives back into that style choice. Whether the fact that Lower Decks was created as an animated series plays into the decision and to what degree, I don't know and don't care.
Picard, being set about twenty years after the start of Lower Decks, went a different way. I found out what the choice was via Twitter: Tungsten from Hoefler and Co.. This was a surprise. More recently, I got to see a video explaining the choice of Tungsten over returning to the classic font, which comes towards the end of this Trekzone interview:
Excerpting from this history of the Net's three most popular fonts' journey to that popularity...
Arial grew in popularity both because of its selection as a Microsoft core font and its design as a sans serif. It was, quite simply, the most accessible sans serif font available to most people with computers, and sans serif fonts were growing in popularity with the increase in computer usage. Although Helvetica is the superior sans serif font to many, Microsoft chose Arial in part because the licensing fee for Helvetica was too expensive.
I understand the need for the additional weights that Tungsten affords...and the price asked by Hoefler is...likely problematic - at the moment - for a lot of graphics-focused fans. Including myself right now. My complaint - is that the right word here? - is with Hoefler as a business concern, not with anyone else for any other reason. Not with Andrew Jarvis. He made the best choice possible for the job he had in front of him (and one I hope he keeps, especially since that will allow him to work with Geoffrey "Star Charts" Mandel himself next season).
It's not that I don't want designers to get paid for their work. I do. I'm just on a tighter budget at this point. If I were to win the LottoMax jackpot on, say, next Tuesday night, I'll likely pay the full US$199.00 for the basic eight-weights Tungsten kit and stop commenting on the subject altogether.
Also, I wonder if the foundry's management understands how large a potential customer base they can now reach out to. Trek fans are a big crowd. Multinational, also multilingual...
Oh.
Oh.
And now I'm starting to understand why they might want or need to keep the price tag as is for the time being. Because Starfleet also has to be multilingual. If you want to adapt a script to other orthographies...and Tungsten is still Latin-only for now, right?
Anyway, one further thought: Tungsten is now a cartography font, in part thanks to its usage in Picard. I am tempted to expect that the next revision of either Stellar Cartography or - my personal hope - Star Charts will include maps made with Tungsten. Hoefler will have to amend this promotional campaign accordingly.
Also, the commentary is going to wander a bit, because like the previous installment, TV space-adventure shows past and present are involved.
If you were a Star Trek fan back during the late 1980's and most of the 1990's, you knew this typeface almost on sight, because about halfway through The Next Generation's run, Starfleet had switched over from Compacta Bold + Compressed and at least one lesser-known font to this one for their LCARS user interface screens. Deep Space Nine and Voyager also made heavy use of it for the same reasons. Swiss 911 UC was probably easier to afford at the time. I haven't asked the question of graphic designer/tech advisor Mike Okuda, to be honest, of how the switch happened and why.
Both Compacta and Helvetica/Swiss are - to my eyes - legible, which is what you want in a font that Starfleet's decided to make part of its operational standards kit.
Other knockoffs have been made that were easier still to buy, or just download as freebies in some cases. I'd argue that the ease of that made entry for thousands of would-be graphic designers a trivial matter.
But it started with that particular weight and style of Helvetica.
This past year or so, the TNG/DS9/VOY timeframe has been revisited by way of Picard and more recently, Lower Decks. The latter enthusiastically dives back into that style choice. Whether the fact that Lower Decks was created as an animated series plays into the decision and to what degree, I don't know and don't care.
Picard, being set about twenty years after the start of Lower Decks, went a different way. I found out what the choice was via Twitter: Tungsten from Hoefler and Co.. This was a surprise. More recently, I got to see a video explaining the choice of Tungsten over returning to the classic font, which comes towards the end of this Trekzone interview:
Excerpting from this history of the Net's three most popular fonts' journey to that popularity...
Arial grew in popularity both because of its selection as a Microsoft core font and its design as a sans serif. It was, quite simply, the most accessible sans serif font available to most people with computers, and sans serif fonts were growing in popularity with the increase in computer usage. Although Helvetica is the superior sans serif font to many, Microsoft chose Arial in part because the licensing fee for Helvetica was too expensive.
I understand the need for the additional weights that Tungsten affords...and the price asked by Hoefler is...likely problematic - at the moment - for a lot of graphics-focused fans. Including myself right now. My complaint - is that the right word here? - is with Hoefler as a business concern, not with anyone else for any other reason. Not with Andrew Jarvis. He made the best choice possible for the job he had in front of him (and one I hope he keeps, especially since that will allow him to work with Geoffrey "Star Charts" Mandel himself next season).
It's not that I don't want designers to get paid for their work. I do. I'm just on a tighter budget at this point. If I were to win the LottoMax jackpot on, say, next Tuesday night, I'll likely pay the full US$199.00 for the basic eight-weights Tungsten kit and stop commenting on the subject altogether.
Also, I wonder if the foundry's management understands how large a potential customer base they can now reach out to. Trek fans are a big crowd. Multinational, also multilingual...
Oh.
Oh.
And now I'm starting to understand why they might want or need to keep the price tag as is for the time being. Because Starfleet also has to be multilingual. If you want to adapt a script to other orthographies...and Tungsten is still Latin-only for now, right?
Anyway, one further thought: Tungsten is now a cartography font, in part thanks to its usage in Picard. I am tempted to expect that the next revision of either Stellar Cartography or - my personal hope - Star Charts will include maps made with Tungsten. Hoefler will have to amend this promotional campaign accordingly.
SPACE/MAPS: HYGMap.space
Jan. 13th, 2021 08:57 amJed Whitten's updated and revised and rebranded what used to be "Starmap", a Star Trek-inspired mapping utility, to better reflect the source data he's been using to make the site a reality as HYGMap.
The "HYG" in "HYGMap" stands for:
Hipparcos
Yale (Bright Star Catalogue)
Gliese
As you might have already deduced, those are the three primary star catalogues Jed's been working from.
And he's added some spreadsheet functionality here. Whichever star you select to focus the map "window" upon, the website will note distances of the other stars in that "window" from your chosen target star as well as distance-from-Sol. You can check links to SIMBAD - a global cross-referencing site for the world's star catalogues - as well as the Internet Stellar DataBase.
Star Trek-specific system names are included as an option, based upon the work in Star Trek: Star Charts and Stellar Cartography.
The "HYG" in "HYGMap" stands for:
Hipparcos
Yale (Bright Star Catalogue)
Gliese
As you might have already deduced, those are the three primary star catalogues Jed's been working from.
And he's added some spreadsheet functionality here. Whichever star you select to focus the map "window" upon, the website will note distances of the other stars in that "window" from your chosen target star as well as distance-from-Sol. You can check links to SIMBAD - a global cross-referencing site for the world's star catalogues - as well as the Internet Stellar DataBase.
Star Trek-specific system names are included as an option, based upon the work in Star Trek: Star Charts and Stellar Cartography.
