I saw my first "studio quality" amateur replica of the Enterprise bridge set more years ago than I care to think about --- and as much as I admire the effort put into projects like this, I believe it is time to move on.

The modern era of science fiction is close on to a century old now. It's an enormous body of work in all media and all genres --- space opera, speculative fiction, etc., etc. --- that the geek has largely ignored for decades.

Why should the big boys like Disney, Pixar and Marvel have all the fun?

I'm asking that not only because my first instinct when hearing the words "The Prime Directive" is to kill them by fire.

But look at Disney.

Founded 1923.

Significant presence and impact in all media from the beginning. Jump-started the modern family oriented theme park and the ABC television network with "Disneyland."

No less a driving force in color television sales with "The Wonderful World of Color." You can't say anything meaningful about the evolution of cable TV without mentioning HBO, the Disney Channel and ESPN.

The musical adaptaion of The Lion King had a ten year run in London.

The geek obsesses over porn, but, my god, think of Disney's impact on the sale of home video hardware and video sales and rentals. You'll know 4K is here to stay when Disney supports it.

Pixar may be spinning its wheels, but Disney Studio Animation is hitting on all cylinders. The Marvel Comics division isn't doing too badly either.

There is no single point of failure.

I'll take it as given that clerical work in the broadest sense is not a significant part of your job.

and maybe next week I'll win the Tri-State Lotto

--- but that isn't how I plan to meet the mortgage payment on my house.

can you post a single example of a geek who escaped conviction because of jury nullification?

If I see a $1500 charge on my credit card, it's for sale.

If there is an online retail shopping site, it's for sale. Glass Explore

There ain't no such thing.

The geek's infatuation with jury nullification never ends.

Historically, jury nullification meant that the black man would be lynched before the trial began and the Klansman would go free. The outsider - the stranger - never holds the winning card in this game.

But good luck trying to explain to the geek why he is not the hometown hero who gets the free pass.

Oh, hell.

Ulbrich isn't a master criminal mastermind --- he's just another greedy, babble-mouthed, geek with a handful of technical tricks and an ego the size of the planet.

The jury of your peers is supposed to be representative of the community as a whole --- and that is essential to keep the system from being corrupted for "the good of the team."

Think of the rage that surrounds every police shooting or choke-hold death.

Rape on campus. Bishops sheltering priests who sexually abuse children. The "watchdogs" who presided over the physical decay and medical malpractice in our Veterans' Hospitals.

There is no tech and no system that can protect a geek from his own inflated ego. The problem isn't getting a geek to talk, the problem is getting him to shut up.

which may explain why you are single --- again.

How soon we forget.

Firefox had the money and manpower needed to develop the first credible open source alternative to Internet Explorer on the mainstream Windows platform.

The uncomfortable and unspoken truth about open source is that projects beyond a certain size and complexity need a formal organization, full-time staff and funding that rivals their commercial --- proprietary --- alternatives.

This is never more true when the target audience or market is not the computer geek.

The town meeting works only if everyone is willing to play by the rules. It is not particularly good at protecting minority interests, and can be quite short-sighted, stupid and irresponsible when emotions are running high, no matter how trivial the issue.

In-universe, the 3 Laws began as a PR gimmick to promote public acceptance of robots. Robert Heinlein, no fan of the 3 Laws, made short work of them in "Friday."

It's jarring --- but perfectly consistent --- to see how often Asimov used the word "boy" (=black=slave) in summoning a robot in his early stories. The 3 laws can be used to define a relationship that is neither healthy or informed on either side,

The modern fountain pen came into general use about the same time as the typewriter.