I came across this image someone posted, and honestly... it's pretty accurate. For me too.
In youth, we are Kirk. HELL YEAH SPACE COWBOY FUN, FIGHT, FLIRT In our teen years, Sisko I AM VERY DEEP ALSO THE CHOSEN ONE PROBABLY In adulthood, Picard DO THE RIGHT THING KIDS SO ANNOY WHAT VACATION But eventually, we all become Janeway. JUST GET ME MY COFFEE AND BURN IT ALL
Yeah. That tracks.
When I was young, even into my teens, I was very gung-ho about everything. Excited about life. Let's get out there. Let's do stuff. Let's make the future happen. Fun. Fight. Flirt. Exactly like the quote says.
Then in my 20s, when I started building my business and raising kids, I got serious. Focused. Driven. I was deep into figuring out who I was and what I wanted out of life. And of course, like every 20-year-old, I thought I knew everything.
By my 30s, as my kids started getting older and life got more structured, I definitely entered my Picard phase. Disciplined. Responsible. Do the right thing. Set an example. I'm still not sure what she means by "kids so annoy" or "what vacation" but yeah... okay.
And now? Let's be honest. We all become Janeway eventually. Just give me my coffee and leave me alone. At least until I finish my coffee. Then we can save the quadrant.
But for me, the truth is, I was raised on The Next Generation. So Picard has always been my guiding influence. Not just as a leader, but as a person. I'd like to believe that no matter what we're going through as a society, deep down most people are good. And I still believe in that Star Trek future. The one where humanity finally gets over its petty squabbles. Where no one has to fight for their basic needs. Where we spend our lives learning, exploring, and bettering ourselves.
That's what I try to do every day. I try to be better. I try to help others do the same. That's why I love teaching. Why I love sharing what I've learned.
Because someday, maybe, if we all keep trying... we'll earn that future.
Wow... AI is getting really good, I just asked ChatGPT to give me a picture of Kirk with the green Orion slave girl, Picard sitting on the bridge of the Enterprise. Sisko looking all prophet-like and serious. And Janeway with her coffee. And that's what it put together. I'm surprised we got away with it without it complaining about a copyright violation. Maybe the folks at Paramount gave them permission because it's really detailed. Their faces are accurate, and even details down to the comm badge are correct. I'm super impressed.
Well, I'm not really using them for commercial purposes. My captain's log is just a daily personal thing that I do. I'm not actually trying to attract business or sell Star Trek-related items. I'm a huge fan, and if Paramount has a problem with me being a huge fan and loving Star Trek, well they can ask me to remove everything from my website and I will. I certainly don't want any problems lol. I've been using fake data with Star Trek names for decades in my databases and in my videos. And it hasn't been a problem so far.
I did have one copyright complaint from YouTube's algorithm not too long ago because it thought that I was exposing personal data including names, addresses, and phone numbers in my videos. I had to file an appeal and say, "No, these are just fictional characters!"
Bryan Enbey
@Reply 13 months ago
Good inspiration there, and the A.I. did really good on the pictures. I must've skipped a step somewhere, because I've been in Janeway mode since around I was 30 (this millennium thus far basically). As I like to say, let's set dragonfire to it and start again.
A world free of struggles of the day-to-day needs or semi-needs for all would be a great thing. Too few have too much while too many have too little; so many are being taken advantage of out there. I think "the powers that be" aren't aware if the many are treated more fairly, then the benefits to them actually will loop back around to themselves, and culture as a whole would improve. It's sadly amazing what the journey for wealth and power does, but each of us can do little things to brighten things up along our path.
I like to think of society as a bunch of Vikings rowing a longship. If each of us does our part, the boat gets where it is going in the best possible time. Everybody shares in the effort. Everybody shares in the reward. But when a few people sit back and refuse to row, or worse, demand extra rations while others work harder to make up for them, the whole ship slows down. Some rowers get exhausted. Some fall overboard. Meanwhile, the ones lounging around wonder why the ship is not moving like it used to.
I asked ChatGPT to give me an image representing my paragraph that I wrote above, and I really like what it came up with except after three or four attempts I could not get it to make sure all the Vikings were in the boat. I went through a couple different iterations, and it changed it slightly, but it always had rowers in the water. I don't understand why. So it must be a very shallow sea they're rowing in. Just goes to show that AI has still got a little ways to go when it comes to image creation. It's getting much better, but it does weird things like this still.
John Davy
@Reply 13 months ago
Hi Rick, Great philosophy! Interestingly, I ended my last children's book with "Be happy by enjoying every day and by being the best that you can be!" John
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