ChromeOS How-To

Hello all, 

It took me long enough to figure out how to download and run ChromeOS from a USB from Windows, so I thought I'd help you all out. Get a USB flash drive (2+ GB). Download Vanilla by Hexxeh (google it, he doesn't like people linking to it)--get the latest nightly build for USB. Now download something to extract tar.gz files like PeaZip here. Extract the OS to a folder you can find easily (you may have to do this twice). When you see the .img file, use Win32 Disk Imager to get it downloaded onto your USB (super easy; but first you may need to download some other shit as detailed on that page). Is that step done? 

Great job! you now have a ChromeOS USB. Turn off your computer, and in the first screen you see it should tell you "Push F* (in my case F2) for setup". You want to go to Boot and change the priorities to be USB (may need to do this in more than one place). Now save and continue (in my case F10); let your computer load, and viola! Follow a few simple steps and you have a chromebook. 

Ways NBC’s “The Event” Finale Sucked

1. No sense of character continuity.
Where to begin? First, in the final scene we learn that First Lady Martinez is a sleeper. If this is the case, why didn’t she learn from Sophia about the plan to poison her husband? Why didn’t she understand and accept it as a necessary evil? Why didn’t she have access to the antidote herself, why did she have to wait for Simon (himself a sleeper, which she didn’t seem to know at all ever) to bring it to her? And what about that whole two or three episode arc where we learn that the big secret she’s hiding is that her family is from Hispaniola, not Cuba. Also, if she *IS* a Sleeper, she had never personally seen her homeworld: remember, her mother came over with Elias’ on the boat from Cuba before either child was born.

Then there’s Sophia. In the beginning she’s a caring, concerned leader. She wants what is best for her people but doesn’t want to violate her “prime directive” of sorts: to do no harm to the indigenous population. In this episode, she’s a crabby old woman, bitter about the death of her son and her friends. Sean Walker manages to talk her out of releasing the pathogen by telling her enough good people have died already and does she really want to kill more; which in the end does absolutely nothing because five minutes later she tells Elias Martinez that she was releasing the pathogen as an act of mercy, the native population will suffer much more now. WTF, then why did she not release the fucking pathogen out of mercy for at least the people she could still “spare”?

How about Sean. He left Leyla, remember? They broke up. A long time ago. Now it looked like he was with Vicky, who is at least kickass and not all kissy and whiny and helpless like Leyla. Also, what the crap is this with Leyla being pregnant? I guess now she and Sean are back together. Wish I could just reach through my computer screen and slash his biosuit and her throat. Where the hell is Samantha? After being the center of all the attention for half the series, she disappeared suddenly with no more concern to her well-being.

2. More sucky story continuity (or lack thereof).
Sean and Leyla meet with her in a containment cell because she’s got a deadly pathogen. They sit and talk about building a new life and a new house together, without mentioning a) the death of Leyla’s FATHER, which had happened since they last met; b) Leyla’s confinement and quite possibly psychological trauma related to it; or c) Leyla’s little sister, who is missing again and could quite possibly be killed by this strain of the pathogen. WTF, writers? WTF?

Jarvis says Martinez doesn’t have evidence of his involvement in the plan to poison Martinez. Remember how that coffee spilled on Blake Sterling’s suit the day that Elias was poisoned? Remember how they tested it? Why didn’t Blake ever bother to GIVE that data to Elias or the First Lady?  Speaking of the First Lady, why is the Christina so fucking pissed about Jarvis’ “truce” with Sofia if she herself is a sleeper?

3. Failure to create a “Finale”

It seems like the authors don’t know the meaning of the word “finale”. It’s supposed to be the episode where you wrap up the loose ends and bring the storyline to a neat close, especially if your series is being cancelled. Instead, they tell us new things: “The Event” is the sleeper’s evolution. Lee and Sofia both indicate that it’s gunna kill the humans. We don’t know how or why, just that it’s all in the scroll. Incidentally, the only person who can read it—Demsey—is apparently dead. [Demsey was Blake’s father, back on “story lines the writers carefully constructed then forgot about.” In the past he had stalkerishly checked out those around his son: remember the Russian spy lady? Why hadn’t he told Blake about Simon Lee?] Also, they didn’t seem to find it at all weird to END A SERIES with introducing a new planet orbiting earth. Because that’s not weird at all. Totally brings a sense of conclusion and finality to the series. Also, what will happen to Vicki? Sean and Leyla’s baby? SAMANTHA?  The entire population of Earth? Seriously, way to bring your show to a nice conclusion, The Event writers.


4.      Suggestions

Because I’m a nice person, I want to offer some helpful advice to the authors. Kill Sean and Leyla. They’re drags and no one will even notice they’re gone. If you won’t kill them both, at least kill Leyla. Sean and Vicki can adopt Samantha and go live somewhere quiet, like with Vicki’s adopted son and mom. Then the other characters—the more interesting characters—can get more screentime. Jarvis has now served his purpose. He has proven time and again that he’s a gullible douche who will believe anyone who kisses his butt a few times. Knock him off and introduce someone more interesting. Sophia is cool, she can stay. So is Elias. Shake it up by introducing some new menace that both groups have to work together to defeat. Then help the Sleepers terraform Mars. Create a new series based on mutual respect and cooperation between the peoples, kinda like Star Trek but different. Then the Sleepers can evolve; do that better then Star Trek, which turned evolved characters into lightbulbs, and you’ll get rave reviews. Also, hire me. I obviously know a thing or two more about script writing than you, and that’s not even a field similar to mine.

Ipad factory explosion

A factory where the Ipad 2 is being made exploded two days ago, apparently due to combustible dust. This about sums it up: 

No rapture--sadness

:( Welp, looks like everyone's still here. Pity, I was really hoping to score some cool shit. Have a cool invocation by the wonderful Roy Zimmerman:

And another great song by him:

hmm, rapture?

So there's some discussion in the Harold Camping part of the world that the rapture is in a few hours. (Actually, I believe it is supposed to have started in Australia and some of the farther reaches already.) Hum dum dum, am not terribly impressed; but if it were to happen, I should really like to cash in! Dibs on the megachurch nearest my house; but I'll be happy to share the loot with you, I don't need more than one flat screen TV.

Worst Things in the World

Worst things in the world:
1) Internet's down. Like mine has been for a week. Some big switch blew 30 miles from my house, meaning that my internet is down until further notice. Though the internet at school is fine. Btw, the shibboleet fix does not work. And when they ask you what OS you use, saying "Linux" does NOT make them assume you know what you're doing when it comes to computers and that you've already checked the connection of the modem to the wall jack and restarted the modem, it just triples your wait time.
2) The sound of water coming through the floorboards above you when you're sitting on the shitter.

Unrelated: Write "Do not erase!" on a chalkboard or blackboard before the teacher walks in. Wait.
What are your "Worst things in the world?"

Forever alone? Protips on how to find a good woman

Getting into a relationship is tough. As an asexual, I have an outsiders view on how tough relationships are to achieve, and thought I would offer some protips on what NOT to do when trying to pick up a girl.
1. Choose an appropriate match. If the girl tells you she's gay or asexual, don't say "I bet I could fix that!" Chances are she doesn't want it "fixed." And you couldn't, even if you "tried," extensive research has proven that in the majority of cases sexual orientation is set long before birth and cannot be changed. This kind of attempt only ends in her being frustrated and angry, and you being alone.
2. Choose the right setting. Do you want a long-term relationship or something for the evening? Bars are not a good place to find the love of your life, but you may find someone suitable for the night and maybe, if you're lucky, a few extra days. The internet is a mediocre place to find a woman. Success on the internet involves several key factors:
a. Website selected. Are you going to Relationships4Life.com or HotHornySluts.com?
b. Proximity to match. Is she in your town, or in Tehran? I highly advise against long-distance internet relationships. If you've never met the woman in real life, it probably won't work out.
c. Compatibility with match. Just like in all other relationships, using the internet is not enough to have in common. You must enjoy a certain amount of similar things.
That all said, internet relationships can work. Someone close to me met the woman who is now his wife on Craigslist.
3. Theories of mate selection. It is a good idea to familiarize yourself with theories of how humans select their mates. It is not a good idea to rattle them all off to a prospective mate. For your convenience, I have provided several main ones here:
a. Propinquity theory: We are attracted to those we spend the most time around. This explains affairs between coworkers.
b. Ideal mate theory: We choose a mate who has the characteristics we most desire in a partner.
c. Homogeny theory: We select mates that are similar to us ethnically, culturally, religiously, or in other ways.
d. Congruence in value theory: We pick mates who agree with us and share our values.
e. Complementary theory: We select mates who we feel compliment us
Understanding how humans select mates can help you find one.
4. Make sure you have a proper understanding of human anatomy and physiology. There is nothing more revolting to a woman, at least to me, then finding out a man doesn't know the basics of sex or the human condition. Since I am asexual and can talk about sexuality as easily and as emotionlessly as I can discuss last night's dinner, many of my friends have long conversations with me about sexual-related topics. I hate it when I have to explain to a man what the white stuff that comes out when he's excited is, or why pulling out doesn't prevent pregnancy, or why a woman has some days that she's angry and doesn't want you to be around her, or how the difference between the vagina, ovaries, and uterus. Becuase I literally have had to explain these things to grown men, some of them divorcees/married men! Please, buy one of those books you buy for pre-teens to explain what is happening to their bodies! You owe it to yourself, you owe it to all of us to know what is going on.
5. Be a gentleman. "I'm horny" is not a good pick-up line. Neither is "Can we talk about sex?" or "I am so hard right now!" I don't like being complimented/flattered, but this is probably more a reflection on my own orientation then it is on other women. But I would advise not going overboard with the complimenting, that's just awkward. Pick one thing to compliment ("I like your shoes!", "Those earings are so flattering on you!") and then don't make any more compliments that evening. Too much complimenting sounds pervy and stalkerish. Real ladies like money. They like when you pay for things and they like when you buy them things. They don't like when you offer them money for sex. They generally don't like when you buy them expensive things on the first date, however. That's needy. Unless you met on a website to hook up young, attractive women with sugar daddies, in which case by all means go for it, give her an iPod Touch.
6. Don't assume that just because a woman's upset, she is on her near her period. It's possible but not the only explanation. Try asking what's wrong.
7. For God's sake, don't tell a woman you're not like other men. She's heard that before. Many times. Trust me. Just saying that makes you exactly like other men because they ALL say that. Simply saying you understand that someone has harmed her/broken her heart and you're sorry goes much further. If she tells you you're acting just like all the other men, then change the way you're acting because you probably are. If you don't know what you did wrong, try reading the first six posts.
8. Life is not a Disney movie. Don't expect to live happily ever after, but don't be abusive or rude to your woman. When you do get into a fight, try to be respectful and level-headed. A little calmness goes a long way.

Morning Coffee added

End of the semester, have been too busy writing papers for school to work on stuff for here. Now I'm done with that, have only two final exams and then on to summer classes. I had a very interesting dream involving Keiko O'Brien, Elim Garak, Kira Nerys, and a few other good people that I plan on sharing with you soon. Also, I added the Chrome/Chromium version of Morning Coffee for Firefox. You too can download it  for free. So if you want to be added to my Morning Coffee, let me know. :)

Mallards and other random things.

Couple of things. First, I suffered a terrible tragedy: my computer's hard drive crashed and I've been in the difficult process of restoring everything. Recommendations about what programs I should download are welcome. On a similar note, I'm sick of Windows, and have decided to wean myself onto Linux. I'm going to keep windows for the time being and run Linux from a flash drive; I'm starting with Linux 4 Newfriends (Chrome Vanilla by Hexxeh), haven't quite figured out how to open the .img file yet.
Geek Squad does not employ any geeks, they simply employ people who know how to use the internet better than their grandmothers. Apple Geniuses are not geniuses. Back in the day, words used to mean something. Internet Explorer is for little old ladies who want to see the picture their grandchild sent to them on the intermail.
Have fun with those links? lol. Now some real news: Apparently male mallards  produce natural anti-bacteria in the most unlikely of places. If we could replicate this in humans, perhaps we could slow the spread of STDs!

Two for the price of one lunar diaries

Author's note: The goal of the series is to present life on the moon, with its ups and its downs. Life is still life, whether it's here or on a distant planet, and humans will still struggle with many of the same challenges. This post does contain themes that may not be suitable for young children.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

January 25, 2074
Dear Diary,
Thomas is late for his shift. On another, hopefully unrelated, note, someone opened an emergency escape hatch. They did it at the exact same time that the shift overview and turnover was being done, so we didn't notice immediately. Those hatches lead to a tunnel with rungs to climb up to the surface, but the tunnels have very little oxygen! If whoever opened the hatch is inside, they are in grave danger. If they have opened the air-tight escape door at the top, they're in even greater danger. A team is suiting up to go into the hatch now; they said none of the emergency space suits is missing. Hoping for the best.
~Cheung

Dear Diary,
What a difficult day! Thomas climbed up to the surface; the rescuers found his body, and brought him back to the doctors, but there was nothing they could do. This tragedy has shocked everyone. Thomas was a wonderful, kind man; to lose him like this will be hard on everyone. Others will make up for his shifts; but all of us are like a family here, and losing a member of that family is very painful. We'll be busy here in counseling; taking it especially hard is the student I had assigned to check in on him every day. I told her not to blame herself, but she will need more help than that in the coming days. Must be going; have a lot of work ahead of me.
~Tara

yeah another lunar diary

January 22, 2074
Dear Diary,
Sorry I haven't been writing often. I sure do hate writing!! Wish I could just record my thoughts vocally and have them transcribed, but the transcription software doesn't like my accent and I've been trying to practice my English. And my penmanship.
I asked Sara out yesterday. She's a wonderful woman! And those tig bitties! ;) But mostly she's a wonderful woman and a respected colleague. It's so sad, I'm going to be moving soon! Just a few more months and I'll be in Lunar 2! It's amazing, we can just see the edge of the grid for Lunar 2 from the gardens. I went and looked today...I wish we could see how the construction is coming along beneath the grid, but after the robots blasted the hole and put up the dome, I guess there wasn't much else to see. Right now they should be working on the underground light rail that will connect the lunar colonies, if I remember correctly. At least I'll have that to connect me to beautiful Sara. But who knows, maybe I'll meet someone new when the Lunar 2 colonists arrive. I wonder if I'll even have time to come visit Lunar 1! I'm going to be awfully busy, especially during the first few months, giving each of the new colonists a complete physical and a patient file, teaching the new Student doctors...I'm also worried about that; do I have all the training I need? will my students understand me? I'm not sure I'm even ready to be a teacher! I bet the rest of my team is worried, too, tho we don't really talk about it. I should go to the rec center and paint. That always helps me calm down. Maybe a painting of Lunar 2!
~May

Asexual, huh? then why....

Yep. I'm asexual. That means I'd rather have cake than coitus, and that's why I've tried many flavors and varieties of one, but NONE of the other--not even vanilla. So WHY do I write adult-type slash? Because it's art. I like art. I like being creative. I like reading creative things. I like writing creative things. Although I don't have or want personal experience with the subject matter, I do know a great deal about adult behaviors; I've learned about them in my quest to discover my sexuality.
Society expects us all to be sexual. I grew up learning about sexuality. I realized at a certain age that almost all of my peers were sexually active; but I realized that I had no strong desire to join the crowd. It was more than playing safe or standing up to peer pressure; I just flat-out wasn't all that interested. I understood that they had some strong desire for sexual activity that propelled them towards it; but I had one male friend who never ever talked about girls. I never saw him kissing, never saw him checking out the girls, never heard him talking about intercourse or girls with whom he wished to engage in intercourse. As we got older and more girls and boys started engaging in these activities, he became a very close friend to me. It wasn't until we were in our 20s that I found out he HAD been engaging in sexual activities all along--only with boys, not girls. Now that I'm an adult, I realize that there's an even greater expectation of sexual activity by society. Nearly all people my age engage in sexual activity. I discuss it with my peers; they tell me about their experiences. I have decided that most others really do enjoy sexuality, they're not simply feigning interest. They may not enjoy all the partners they engage--some complain that a partner was less than ideal, and other partners were better by comparison; but they do enjoy the activity in general. I don't quite understand why. They tell me "Because sex is fun!" I fail to understand which part of the mating process they consider "fun."
It took me many years between the time I realized that I just wasn't all that interested in sex and realizing that this could actually be a sexual orientation. During that time, I studied a wide variety of sexual behavior. I looked up a good number of male/female positions and fetishes; I watched Kama Sutra lessons (Protip: search for Dr Swayam Prakash on YouTube.). I decided none of them were interesting to me. Then I decided if I wasn't interested in heterosexual activities, perhaps I was gay (that's logical, isn't it?) so I started studying female/female relations. Those weren't interesting to me either. Well, I thought, if I'm not interested in heterosexual or homosexual relations, perhaps I'm transgender! :-) So I started over, checking out male-male relations and male-female relations with the intent of trying to figure out if I were more interested in them if I were the male. That seemed a tiny bit more hopeful in the "appealing" range at the beginning; but in the end, the answer was still nope, I wasn't really interested in that either. Well if I wasn't interested in any of that, what DID I like? I finally realized I was operating under the mistaken assumption that everyone must have some sexual interest; now I have accepted that that is not necessarily true.
My interest in sexuality is now no longer to find my way; I have accepted myself for who I am. I don't like ANY of it. And that's just the way it is. Now, I'm interested for reasons of understanding others and for artistic reasons. I understand sexuality is part of life; but it doesn't have to be part of mine, and that's ok with me. I'm still pretty curious about what others get out of it, though.

May/Sara

January 21, 2074
Dear diary,
Tara's little social function was a real success. People left smiling, for the first time in days. It was good to get our minds off of our troubles, if only for a few minutes. I took advantage of the time to ask the Teacher chef, Dan, for the recipe. Here it is:

Mock veal cutlets:

Wash one cup of lentils, and soak over night; in the morning strain and parboil in fresh boiling water for 30 minutes; drain again and cook until soft in sufficient boiling water to cover them; rub through a sieve and to the puree add 1/4 cup of melted butter, 1 cup of fine Graham bread crumbs, 1 cup of strained tomatoes to which a, speck of soda has been added, 1 cup of blanched and chopped peanuts, 1 tablespoon each of grated celery and minced onions; season with 1/4 teaspoon of mixed herbs, salt and pepper; blend all thoroughly together, and form into cutlets; dip these into egg and then in fine bread-crumbs; place in a well-greased baking pan, and brown in quick oven; arrange around a mound of well seasoned mashed potatoes, and serve with brown sauce.

Brown sauce:

Mix thoroughly 1 teaspoon of peanut butter and 2 tablespoons browned flour with 1 tablespoon cream; add gradually 2 cups hot milk, and stir and cook until the mixture thickens; just before serving add 4 tablespoons strained tomatoes, and a little salt and pepper.

Mashed Potatoes:

Rinse potatoes and peel. Cut into small chunks. Boil in water until soft; strain. Mash thoroughly, adding butter, salt, and pepper to taste.

Sweetened Carrots:

Wash carrots and cut into thin slices. Boil in enough water to cover the carrots with a good amount of honey: 2-3 tbsp honey per cup of water. Boil until carrots are soft; retain water (can be served chilled as a beverage).

  

Of course here, we don't have real milk; we use rice milk and a soybean/palm/olive butter substitute. The food is delicious, after the first few weeks you don't even notice it's not real products anymore; but I will say that I sure do miss catfish. Peanuts are an important crop for us because they add nutrients to the soil. They're one of the very few plants actually grown in the soil, as the ground here is not conducive for plant growth; most of our plants are grown in hydroponic bays. However, that will change as the water reclamation and waste extraction, plus the plants that give nutrients to the soil, begin to work together to create fertile topsoil. After several years we'll have enough plant life to allow us to sustainably expand and have more people living in the community.
On a more personal note, May asked me out! We finally had a chance to talk on our off-hours; we had such a fun time. We have so much in common, even tho I'm a southern belle and she's a Chinese mountain girl. There's so much more to each of us than our nationalities; living here, in Lunar 1, has really helped me experience and appreciate that. We're going to go bowling at the rec center Tuesday. She showed me some of her paintings, and I showed her some of mine. They're amazingly similar: she favors free-flowing forms to lines and angles, like me. She has a beautiful painting of a waterfall. Time for my shift! I better run or I'll be late!
~Sara

Bashir/O'Brien

After this clip: Bashir and O'Brien are taken prisoner by a renegade group of Jem'Hadar. (DS9: Hippocratic Oath). O'Brien frees himself and Dr. Bashir, against the Doctor's wishes, but by doing so condemns the unit of Jem'Hadar soldiers to death. O'Brien and Bashir return to Deep Space 9, both changed by the events of the last five days.
Three days later:
O'Brien's door chime sounds. "Huh? Who could that be? Keiko isn't due back for another two weeks.....Enter."
Julian opened the door. "Chief....Can I....talk to you for a minute?"
"Alright....sit down." The two sat together.
"I've been thinking a lot about what happened back there on the planet, and I think now I understand."
"Oh you do?" O'Brien snorted. "Well that's good, at least one of us does."
"No....you do. You said it yourself on the runabout, you couldn't let me die."
"True, that. You're a pain in the arse Bashir, but I......" He stopped himself. How could he admit it? What would that do to him? to Keiko? He could admit his bisexuality to himself....but what about his wife? what about their daughter, Molly?
"You what?"
"I don't hate you for it."
"I think it's more than that, Miles."
"Oh you do?" O'Brien forced himself to chuckle; but his heart was breaking inside. Why, why, why did he not have the courage to be open about his feelings. He turned away.
"I love you, Miles O'Brien."
"You WHAT!?" Miles jumped to his feet. "I'm....I'm a married man, Julian! I have a wife! And a daughter! I can't.....I....." He sat back down, his body heaving as tears rolled down his cheeks. "My wife....I love her...."
"But...."
"But I love you too." He turned his head away. "Molly....Molly....my daughter needs me. I can't...."
Julian stood. "I understand. I wish....I wish things could be different. I'm.....sorry, Miles. I shouldn't have come." He turned to leave.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Want more? Leave a comment ;)

Lunar 1--Counsellor's office

Author's note: these are in reverse chronological order; read back to get to the beginning of the story....also, tell me which characters you like best, and I'll write more of them. The doctor, Sara, is a lesbian, if you didn't catch on. ;)

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January 20, 2074

Dear diary, 

Today was pretty stressful. People are on edge--one of the solar panels failed completely. Engineering had been monitoring the situation for a few days--they thought it was under control, but wiring problems were masking a bigger problem with the panel itself. Something I don't quite understand; I'm a counselor, not an engineer. Although we brought and built many more than we needed, it's a reminder of how far we are from home. Some part is needed to repair it, but it must be sent up from the planet. We won't have our own metalwork here for another fifteen years; it's part of the planned Lunar 7 facility. The next shipment doesn't arrive for almost three months. As long as the problem was limited to the one panel, we're fine; but if more fail, we may need to reduce activity at some of the non-critical operations, like the Rec Center.

May seems to have a thing for Sara. I'm worried that it's too soon after her break-up to begin another relationship; but she is a very confident woman, and seems to know what she's doing. But what would I know about relationships. I'm asexual. 

Gotta admit, it's not easy being the only asexual in the colony. I sit and eat, or go walk in the gardens, and look around at the other people, sitting in couples. Don't get me wrong--I have a lot of good friends here. But sometimes I'm lonely. I do want more companionship. Perhaps I should arrange a chess social; that always brings people together and cheers up the place. This would take care of both my problems, the anxious populous and the need for more interaction.

Time for my next appointment, got to go.

~Tara

Doctor's Diary--Lunar 1

January 18, 2074
Dear Diary,
I'm on third watch. A rather boring shift, but I like that. There isn't a lot of work to do here, even during the busier shifts. Our diet is carefully planned, we all have a strict exercise regimen, and injuries are very rare. Most of the work done here is maintenance--contraceptives, of course, because the ecosystem of Lunar 1 will not be able to support more people for another ten years; and physicals, and minor first aid for lacerations and abrasions. Life is good in Lunar 1.
Another important task during the first two shifts is training. The Students have to learn many skills: heart, brain, and other diagnostics and surgeries; even work we know we don't have, like how to birth a baby. It's very important for our Students to know these skills, because some day they'll be Teachers. I'm on duty tonight with a Section 4 medical student, May. She just broke up with her partner; something about him not being open to her bisexuality. There are very few singles here; most of us came as couples (Tara says it's better for morale; ironic, because she's one of the few singles). My wife and I are in an open relationship, tho, so maybe I'll try to spend more time with May. She is beautiful. It's just a shame that even here, some people aren't open to diverse sexuality; we came here to escape the Terran ways and form a new life for ourselves. I guess even on the moon, we can't escape our nature.
Tomorrow's third meal is my favorite, veal cutlets made from peanuts. It's an old recipe of George Washington Carver. Don't care much for the carrots tho. I eat them because I know they're part of the dietary needs. Maybe I'll ask chef for the veal recipe; even though I can't cook, it would be great to put in my diary.
Time to leave; the wife's waiting.
~Sara

Another Lunar 1 Diary

January 13, 2074
Dear Diary, 
Thomas is well behaved today; I suppose Tara's plan is working. I have the third watch this month, what would be the night watch on Earth. But since Ops--and the hospital, habitat rings, factories, and recreational facilities--are subterranean, and we are on the light side of the moon, where it is sunny all the time above ground, it doesn't really make a difference. The third shift is easier than the others, because the factories and recreational facilities are closed. The hospital has minimal staffing as well, and the counselors and most other personnel are off duty. There's still a lot of work to be done, though. We have to keep a careful eye on the oxygen levels; additionally, we have to keep a close eye on the detectors so we will be aware of any incoming meteors. The Grid--the rubber/bioplastic mesh just above the tinted reinforced glass dome--is supposed to protect us from small meteors; we also have missiles to destroy larger meteors. Back on Earth we didn't have to worry as much, but without an atmosphere to protect us, we're very vulnerable here. Of course we're working to create an atmosphere here; but it's slow work, and not very exciting. Tonight one of the solar panels seems to be malfunctioning. I sent a repair bot to correct it; turns out some wires had been faulty. I made a note of it in the log.
Pretty boring evening, really. I was catching up on some of the news from Earth. There was another huge earthquake back home in California; can't say I miss those. It's kind of nice to live on a ball of rock that doesn't act like it wants to throw you into the ocean every few days. One of the water desalification plants in Pakistan failed; hundreds of thousands are without water. Combine that with the lack of power they've been experiencing since the last of the mountain ice melted away, and it's pretty bad there. China is of course sending aid, again. The famine in Africa has worsened. It's tragic. Even after the empires that raped Africa for its resources have fallen into demise, the poor continent still can't catch a break. I hear that some philanthropists are trying to set up a society based on the same principles as our colonies. My shift is almost over, and I must write my shift summary. More later.
~Cheung

Dairies from Lunar 1

These diaries are fiction, based on what I believe a lunar colony should look like.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Counsellor's Personal Log, January 8, 2074
It's been six months since we landed here on Lunar 1. Although we had all been through extensive training, I don't think any of us were fully prepared for life here. I went up to the gardens today after work. The grass, the flowers, the trees, the birds...It was just like the big blue ball, except for the fact that I could see the planet below (and the Dome). I know the Dome and Grid are there to block the fall of asteroids and shield us from UV rays, but I would love to be back under the South Carolina sun. Even in the summer.
It will be another year before I get to go back to visit the blue planet. I miss my parents, but being a settler does have its appeal. I love the community we've built here. The farmers, doctors, engineers, waste extraction personnel--they're like a family to me. And I can't say I miss lawyers and bankers. Or war. There's no war up here, we live together in peace. The crops are doing well, I've been told; little surprise, we built this environment as much for them as for us; still, it is important, and we all know that. Without them, we would all die. General morale is strong among the settlers. Our daily workouts are keeping us strong; the nutritionists and doctors are keeping us healthy. We've done well, pulling together like this. It has been hard for many crew members to learn second, third, and fourth languages; but it's almost as if we are writing a language of our own, pulling the best words out of the native languages of all the settlers. The robots have almost completed construction at Lunar 2, and the plants and small animals will arrive in three months. We will be overseeing the organization, putting a lot of extra pressure on Engineering.
One of the couples, May and Josh, have separated. May moved to Habitat Level 3. I have scheduled additional time for her, which has pushed back my crew evaluations. Thomas from Engineering has been intermittently neglecting to take his medication; his Teacher has alerted me of abnormal mood swings. I have assigned a Counseling Student from his habitat ring to remind him to take his pills every the morning. The crew has decided that Student Section 4 is most qualified to become Teachers at Lunar 2; although the settlers will not arrive for another 15 months, the other teachers and myself have begun assigning extra responsibilities to our Section 4 students. It's an excellent system we have, so much unlike the blue planet. There, we all had to work and compete to survive. Here, we all work together; there is no leader, no overseer, no CEO. Here, we are simply teachers and students. Every student will become a teacher. We are not greater or lesser than each other; those of us with specialized training from the homeworld share our knowledge freely with our students, for the good of the collective. I feel sorry for my family back on the blue world, struggling against the world to survive, locked in a competition with everyone around them. I wish they could experience the peace we have here. I have to go; it's time for the evening meal. More later.
~Tara

Asexual/aromantic...coming out

Yeah this is an anonymous blog (E. Hammond is from the name of Evey from V for Vendetta), and so I guess I'm not really coming out, but I still wanted to write about being asexual. I get asked whether I became asexual after being abused; I was abused, but do not believe this is the reason for my asexuality, as one of my parents also seems to be asexual. I've never experienced romantic love, but over the years I've learned to mimic it. I can say the same things, do the same things, but without feeling. I hear others talking about the passion of love, I can read a great number of stories and see a great number of films that depict desire, lust, jealousy, passion, love, devotion, and romance. I can, just like an actress, tell someone with great passion that I love them. However, I myself have never experienced these emotions, and I doubt I ever will.
I've read a great deal about sexuality. I've familiarized myself with many sexual activities involving men, women, and various and sundry combinations and variations thereof, yet none of them make me say "Ooh, I want to try that!" I'd really rather eat cake. I see "adult content" pictures; I understand that most people have some sort of reaction to them, but I myself do not. I see the human shape as a simple animal, not unlike other animals; I can view it without shame, but also without arousal, like most people would see a horse or a bird. It is not disgusting, but it has no special beauty. I understand that others have a reaction, positive or negative, to members of the different sexes, but I don't understand why. I tend to find men slightly more desirable than women, but I can appreciate beauty in either without a sexual response.
I'm not unhappy with nature's decision to make me this way. I view the pursuit of sexual gratification as an enormous waste of time and money, and am glad that I have been spared the lust that seems to consume others. It allows me to work with others without the friction caused by sexuality. I do require companionship from time to time; asexuality does get in the way of that, because I cannot find a partner who understands my relationship needs. Nevertheless, overall, I am happy with my orientation, and would not change it.

Ezri/Arandis fanfiction

YES, it departs from the show. This is slash fiction, not very good slash fiction, but a cool pairing of an adorable couple. So appreciate it or bug off.

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Ezri Dax

Ezri stood beside the Temtibi Lagoon. Risa was just as beautiful as she…or, more accurately, her symbiont Dax…remembered it. The second to last Trill host of Dax, Curzon—who had the symbiont longer than any of the other hosts—, had been known for passion for women, and his last trip had been to Risa. “Pompous old fool”, Ezri muttered to herself, “couldn’t pass up a woman…even if his life depended on it. Still, this place is beautiful.” She smiled.

“Dax?” Ezri turned.

“Arandis!”

“I saw your name on the roster of incoming guests….I had to see you.” Arandis smiled. This Dax, like Jadzia, was younger, and female; perhaps the spark that had been there between her and Curzon would not continue.

“You’re…..beautiful!”

“You sound surprised….tho I suppose you’ve met more of Curzon’s lovers…”

“Oh, no, I didn’t mean….I mean…..I…What was I saying?” Ezri blushed.

“Ah…you still have feelings for me?” Arandis gently nudged, a smile playing with her lips.

“We’re…old friends, you and I…or you and Dax….”

“Yes, you could say that. I caused Curzon’s death.”

“I remember…I enjoyed it. Or he enjoyed it. I haven’t gotten it quite figured out…I have all these memories and feelings and….and a huge urge to kiss you.”

Arandis with a Horga'hn

“Are you sure that would be a good idea?” Arandis asked; her eyes twinkled. But before she could get an answer, Ezri had wrapped her arms tightly around Arandis and locked their lips.
“Oh Dax” Arandis whispered, “After losing Jadzia and Curzon, I couldn’t stand to lose you again.” They kissed once more.

“I’m here now, Arandis. That’s what matters. Maybe we don’t have tomorrow, but we have right now. Let’s go inside, shall we?” Ezri said, and began to caress her.

Arandis moaned softly. “I want to…but I’m on duty here.” Ezri began to kiss her neck. “After my shift,” Arandis tried to protest, but now Ezri was too firmly involved in her love-making to notice Arandis’ words. Arandis herself was hardly convinced by her excuse; this was, after all, Risa--a pleasure planet— and the Jamaharon ritual formed a large part of the services provided to guests. “Well, alright, but let’s get a Horga’hn so it seems like I’m on business.”

Ezri looked up for a second, and Arandis realized that she hadn't heard a word. “Hmm? Which building?”