David Mack

It takes no more effort to be kind than to be mean. The person you are interacting with will almost certainly be going through something. Be the sort of person that doesn't make it harder for them.

YouTube video by Niall McCormack Land’s End-John O’Groats Te Araroa Lands End to John O’Groats Intro

Two years ago, my amazing big brother Niall walked the length of New Zealand to raise money to build an eye clinic in north-west Tanzania. This summer he's walking Lands End to John O'Groats to raise money to equip the clinic. His journey started this week:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=mT0A...

University sidelines scientist who exposed toxic metals in Lake Maurepas The SELU scientist who discovered alarming levels of toxic chemicals in Lake Maurepas was abruptly removed from her research position without explanation.

A university scientist who discovered alarming levels of toxic chemicals in a lake in southeastern Louisiana was abruptly removed from her research position this week without explanation

Starmer's lot have absolutely no excuse

For folks in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area….

*dry rubs

Teriyaki-glazed pan-seared wild salmon over seared asparagus finished with sesame oil atop a bed of wild herb rice pilaf with toasted slivered almonds.

Been trying out different cooking methods (in this case, pan-searing fresh wild salmon instead of broiling) and new flavor profiles (teriyaki glazing instead of dry ribs). And since I started watching Top Chef, I’m trying to improve my plating. (Forgive the dirty plate — this was seconds.)

“We take vaccines so for granted in the United States” ...“Women in the developing world know the power of [vaccines]. They will walk 10 kilometers in the heat with their child and line up to get a vaccine because they have seen death.”

Melinda Gates

The only way I could even have imagined a TV movie of Section 31 working at all would have been to make it a story about an infiltrator prepped by Starfleet Intelligence who, once inside S31, becomes corrupted and ruined. In effect, a cautionary tale about tolerating “necessary” evils.

I don't know if you've ever read any of the Star Trek novels, but when I wrote books under the Section 31 subseries banner, I remembered that S31 were the villains. And I even had Bashir infiltrate the organization and ultimately take it down (with help from Data and a civilian journalist).

turning Section 31 into cool antiheroes sucks so bad. DS9 used Section 31 to hammer in the contradictions of their utopia, to take a "necessary evil" and ask "if evil is necessary, then regardless of outcome, you're doing evil". They are worms hollowing the Federation from the inside out.

#BetterInAUnion
#UnionStrong

An ink wash portrait of Leonard Nimoy as Spock in shades of blue.

A portrait from forever ago, traditional media ink drawing of Spock on illustration board.

Image of two Tusken Raiders in front of a hut. The image is meant to invoke the painting "American Gothic" by Grant Wood.

A couple of my friends have an amazing Tusken Raider couples cosplay so I photoshopped them into a "Tusken Gothic" composition.

Journalism is about objectivity, not neutrality. Neutral "journalism" is a canard.

Neutrality and objectivity are not the same. Objectivity is a slave to facts in pursuit of the truth. Neutrality is the art of presenting fact and fiction as equal.

Neutrality evelates lies. It's de facto bias.

The US could see a 30-40% decline in new international student enrollment, resulting in nearly $7 billion in lost revenue and more than 60,000 fewer American jobs. https://www.nafsa.org/fall-2025-international-student-enrollment-outlook-and-economic-impact

The rage-inducing Dem fundraising emails that have become an internet punchline don’t even raise much money for campaigns. It’s a con by *one consulting firm*

I love that the Captain's chair on the bridge of the USS Adventure in "The Last Frontier" in #StarTrekSNW's "A Space Adventure Hour" uses a real 1960s chair at its core, just like the Captain's chair on the original Enterprise on #StarTrekTOS. :-)

#StarTrekSNW's "Lost in Translation"⬇️ (2260) showed the inside of an Enterprise nacelle and the grilles could be seen with nothing located behind them. In 2261 ("A Space Adventure Hour"⬆️) there are now circular structures behind the grills. Intriguing! :-) 3/3

It seems after the events of #StarTrekSNW's "Hegemony I"↖️ + "Hegemony II"↗️, in the three months between the 2-parter and "Shuttle to Kenfori"↙️, (+"A Space Adventure"↘️), the Enterprise nacelle grilles got a refit because there is now a circular structure seen behind them, not present earlier. 🧵 1/3

Advertise your account with a GIF

“no cheating. your last saved celebrity photo is your therapist. who is it?”

Dave Baker, historical weapons re-creation expert and judge on FORGED IN FIRE.

Honestly, this might work.

only in a country with a political press as terrible as ours could a pair of democratic legislators be assassinated by a reactionary conservative and seven weeks later this double murder has been completely forgotten about

This is for my TAS project so the level of detail is about finished. Obviously I still need to finish the nacelles, secondary hull, add windows, etc.

The USS AMTerprise. Is that anything?

Probably not. It's late here. I'm off to bed.

Apparently — and this is the actual rationale — was that at some point Melania complained about the heels of her shoes sinking into the grass and dirt on the lawn, making it an awkward place for her to mingle with guests. So Drumpfenfuhrer had the Rose Garden lawn replaced with concrete.

IMNSHO, the only one of the post-TOS Star Trek TV series that has really understood how to portray Starfleet as a culture was Deep Space Nine.

All true. I'd be willing to bet if I visited one of the current shows' writers' rooms and asked how many people at those tables had ever served in any branch of any military, or had even set foot aboard an operational warship, no hands would go up.

This is why we should protect and expand the right to vote. It's why workers deserve more power at work. It's why women should have the right to choose. It's why we should root out racism from our justice system. It's why people shouldn't die or go bankrupt because they can't afford healthcare.

This moment in #StarTrekTNG's "The Best of Both Worlds I" is the very first time Picard is playing with his ready room crystal (stress level 1). It's also the first time he's holding it while looking out the ready room window (stress level 2), having to make a tough decision. 🧵 1/2