Just a little humor

Shiftless2 said:
#1,422
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Ahh
The good ol' days when watching TV involved a little exercise. The televiewer had to get up off the couch and rotate the dial on the TV to change the channel.

Shiftless2 said:
"TV dinner" #1,422
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Good marketing, an easily remembered product name, a well targeted market generations before that was done Google style.

Shiftless2 said:
"heated up in the oven"
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"Oven"!
Barbarians! That was before the "Amana Radar Range", what kids under 60 know as the "microwave oven".

Shiftless2 said:
"metal folding tray"
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How many of these, how many millions of them have been manufactured?
How many of them are still in use?
This style of folding table still seems to be popular in 2026.
"Folding TV Tray Table for Small Space, Industrial Snack Tables for Eating at Couch" do your own shopping ...

Shiftless2 said:
"futuristic luxury"
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Perhaps I show my age, still seems like luxury to me.

wor·ry (wûrē, wŭrē)
v.intr.
1. To feel uneasy or concerned
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.

Food insecurity has bedeviled humankind for most of history.
While superficially it may seem Swanson's TV Dinners was a step downward rather than a leap forward, consider:
- it may not get 3 stars in the Michelin Guide, but the food is relatively safe, & somewhat nutritious, and
- exceedingly convenient, perhaps easier / quicker / cheaper than hopping in the Nash and driving to a restaurant

Those that enjoy smirking needn't stretch much here.
But in the centuries before, trouble-free meals were available only to the wealthy.
Swanson plopped the meal already served in its own segmented tray, relieving blue-collar America of such kitchen toil.
 
Shiftless2 said:
"I trust you read the name of the ship?" S2 #1,430
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Indeed. It's in black & white.
Perhaps ironically, I'm an original Trekie.
I vaguely recall an episode where Kirk was mentioned as the only one in the academy to pass the test, only to learn later in the episode Kirk won by cheating,
hacking into the academy's test administration computer, to alter the program thereby enabling himself to win.

Garrison Keillor said of mid-westerners that in general they like humanity, but don't care for any one person in particular.
I retain a vague appreciation for the original Star Trek though find most of the individual episodes somewhat annoying. I suppose The Corbomite Maneuver may be among my faves.

A few Star Trek jokes:

- Since he was a young boy William Shatner wanted to be an actor in the worst way. His role as Captain Kirk enabled him to do so.
- What do the starship Enterprise and a roll of toilet paper have in common? They both circle Uranus looking for Klingons.
- William Shatner wanted to diversify his portfolio, and introduced a line of women's lingerie. BUT, no one wanted to buy Shatner panties.

Shatner has been a workhorse, attending the evolution of motion pictures. He's had roles in Gunsmoke, Twilight Zone (airliner wing-walking gremlin) etc.

Stephen Colbert solicited young pics of celebrities, & got this one:

Shatner171004s.JPG
Thanks for #1,428.
I did not know.
Now I do.
 
sear said:
I vaguely recall an episode where Kirk was mentioned as the only one in the academy to pass the test, only to learn later in the episode Kirk won by cheating,
hacking into the academy's test administration computer, to alter the program thereby enabling himself to win.
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It's been a very long time but speaking from memory, wasn't that the object of the test?
 
Shiftless2 said:
"It's been a very long time but speaking from memory, wasn't that the object of the test?" S2 #1,433
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Perhaps.
I doubt it.
If that were the case, then the story message would include: Star Fleet's cadets are such a gaggle of incompetents, only one among them passed the test.
That's not consistent with commercial entertainment messaging.
Instead I imagine the intended message was to help elevate Kirk to hero status: THE ONLY ONE to pass the test, a superlative officer.

meanwhile, back on Earth:

Unearthed gold ring leads archaeologists to message hidden for 2,000 years - Fox News
Unearthed gold ring leads archaeologists to message hidden for 2,000 years - Fox News

Scholars have examined the ring's inscription. It's in cuneiform.
Though it doesn't translate precisely into modern English, the approximate meaning seems to be:
Harry, please stop leaving the toilet seat up!

Oh Harry ! :mad:
 
Re 1,433

The Kobayashi Maru is a famous Starfleet Academy training simulation designed to be an unwinnable "no-win scenario". Cadets are ordered to rescue a disabled civilian ship in the Klingon Neutral Zone, which triggers a Klingon attack, testing their character, decision-making, and how they confront unavoidable failure. [1, 2, 3]

What is the Kobayashi Maru?
The exercise places the cadet in command of a starship (often the USS Enterprise). They receive an urgent distress signal from a stranded civilian neutronic fuel carrier, the Kobayashi Maru, which has struck a gravitic mine and is losing power. The ship is located deep within the Klingon Neutral Zone, and attempting to rescue them violates a peace treaty, risking all-out war. [1, 2, 3]

Regardless of what the cadet chooses, the scenario unfolds the same way:
  • If they enter the Neutral Zone, they are ambushed by Klingon battlecruisers.
  • The Klingon ships severely outnumber and outgun the cadet's vessel.
  • The Kobayashi Maru is destroyed, and the cadet's ship is either destroyed or forced to surrender. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
The primary purpose of the test is not tactical; it evaluates a command-track cadet's discipline, moral character, and how they handle fear and impossible odds. [1, 2]

How Did Kirk Beat It?
James T. Kirk is famously the only cadet in Starfleet history to beat the simulation. Unwilling to accept a no-win scenario, Kirk secretly reprogrammed the simulator's computer so that the Klingon shields could be penetrated, making it possible to defeat the Klingons and rescue the ship. [1, 2]
When confronted by academy officials—including Spock, who programmed the test—for cheating, Kirk famously argued that there is no such thing as a no-win scenario, and that he "doesn't believe in the no-win scenario". [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
 
Shiftless2 said:
Re 1,433
"Kirk famously argued that there is no such thing as a no-win scenario" #1,435
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It's a potentially useful myth, even though it is wrong. "Useful"? Why?

Those that believe they "cannot" (will not) win are probably right. The cliché is: "If you think you can't, you're right."
"You're never beaten unless you quit." Ted Turner

Fortitudine vincimus [By endurance we conquer.] Shackleton
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There are scenarios that are not survivable.
Earth's sun is a white dwarf. BUT !
Due to the standard life-cycle of a star, Earth's sun will millions of years from now become a red giant, expanding in size, thereby subsuming Earth's current orbit.
At that time, other things being equal, Earth's orbit being inside the Sun, game totally over !
If the challenge is to save the planet, success is unlikely. Escape may be the most plausible scenario, star-hopping.

There are however some scenarios treated as no-win that may not be.

The sinking of the Titanic is a notorious example.
What passengers & crew needed was an unsinkable substitute for an ocean-liner. Like an iceberg ?

Alternately, lash the lifeboats bow to stern in a circle, strip everything aboard the Titanic that will float, and deposit it inside the circle.
Fill each lifeboat to capacity, and distribute the remaining passengers & crew on the floating pile.
 
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