One of the comments in this post suggests that that may be the case, but I think it's unlikely.

I'm visiting Dublin (and Ireland in general) for the first time with my family. I've never seen this many pride flags in my life, although I must admit that I'm from a somewhat rural place in the U.S. Pride is unfortunately not very well-celebrated where I live, so it's pretty awesome being in a place that, according to Wikipedia, ranks 8th in the top 10 most gay-friendly countries.

Seeing all these Pride flags has been a pleasant surprise, but...I don't seem to have seen that many gay people. In my few days exploring Dublin so far, I've seen maybe a handful of cases in which I could pin someone as obviously gay. One of them was a guy wearing a shirt saying "That's so gay...I'm down." This is all despite the fact that apparently, a signifcant percentage of Irish people say they're part of the LGBTQ+ community.

In the U.S.--even in my somewhat rural town of 300k people--I feel like I'm more likely to find people who give obvious signs that they are gay. It could be the "gay voice," or a guy wearing feminine or fashionable clothing, or the "gay walk," etc. etc. Here in Dublin, I've seen almost nothing like that. And considering that I'm in Ireland's capital, I expected to see more of that.

My only working theory is that a lot more gay people here in Dublin/Ireland are "straight passing." I would consider myself one of these cases, as the clues I give to my sexuality are much more subtle, and many people happen to assume I'm straight before they get to know me. The last thing I want to do is make assumptions, though, so I should clarify that this theory is more of a guess.

I had a very abstract and unrealistic fantasy about meeting some hot gay guy here in Dublin and having some sort of international romance. No matter how unrealistic that may be, it doesn't stand a chance of coming to fruition if I can't find the gay dudes. I've seen quite a few hot guys, but I genuinely can't tell if any of them are gay (not that my gaydar is very good, either). Am I missing something?

EDIT: I've left Ireland now, but in the last couple of days, I saw quite a few people I could tell were gay. I honestly think that on the first day or two, I was just too busy seeing the sights to pay proper attention to the people. Hopefully my "narrow-mindedness" will no longer offend you all.

The idea of a majority isomag build appeals to me. It's simple, it's elegant, and it doesn't make me feel like I'm cheating with magical weapons of mass destruction. Unfortunately, I can't get nearly as much damage out of a pure isomag-focused build as a semi-uncon build. Consoles like Full Broadside and Micro-Quantum Phalanx Array each account for 60k-100k DPS on my typical patrol/TFO runs. There isn't a single non-clicky universal console that can come close to competing with that. So, I resort to combining the best of both worlds, with four isomags, a couple of critical non-clicky passives, and several clicky universals. With this hybrid setup, I've been able to achieve 500k-600k DPS, which is pretty impressive in its own right.

So, I'm wondering--before the Vovin console and Krait builds became a thing, how did people achieve millions of DPS? Back before the Uncon craziness, I read the STOBetter guides and watched the YouTube videos, and I followed them to the letter. Of course, back then, I was too young and broke to even dream of broaching elite content. But even now, with a massive upgrade in resources, a somewhat embarrassing monetary investment in the game, and a new solo ISE-capable build, I can't achieve the numbers that veteran pre-Krait players reached. On a related note, remember when Spire consoles were the meta? I haven't touched my Atlantis in ages because its un-upgraded console layout favors Spire consoles, which are even weaker than isomags. The one time I brought its mothballed ass out of the closet a couple months ago, I shoved it back in after a couple of elite patrol runs. It was just that inept at genociding my enemies.

So, how do people get so much out of isomags (and before that, Spire consoles)? I've only been able to think of a few possible reasons: the large buffs afforded to those with completed endeavors, for example. Or small differences in gear mark and rarity. Or piloting skills, which is definitely important (I'm still pretty lazy and/or incompetent when it comes to flanking, especially considering I fly almost exclusively beam boats). Speaking of beams, my damage potential is limited due to my stubborn insistence on sticking with beams because of their thematic accuracy. Although, this may not be as justifiable, since plenty achieved 1M+ DPS with beam builds. What am I missing here?

I just heard that someone apparently proposed Star Trek: Year One.

I've had enough. I'm exhausted. If they actually make another Kirk episode, I will almost certainly quit Trek once and for all.

We've had TOS, TAS, Generations, Disco, SNW, and three Kelvin Timeline movies (with a fourth one that failed to reach fruition) with various different Kirks. And yet, unlike my instant reaction of disgust, people seem to be yearning for a fifth Kirk, set yet again on the same Enterprise. In their desire to see another DiscoKirk spinoff, people even seem to have forgotten their hatred of the Discoverse, which SNW is 100% a part of. Is it any wonder the franchise is desperately struggling to grow?

Enough. Why are we repeating Kirk when we've gotten his story so many times? Kirk is a great guy, but I'm tired of seeing him all the damn time, with each version being yet another variation on the original. Why don't we get a Sisko reboot, or follow through with Enterprise and give that series a proper ending (which would mean Trip's survival and return to the screen after his supposed "death," of course), or flesh out Ro Laren's story, especially now that the writers of Picard teased us with her appearance, just to murder her hastily? Captain Garrett, the captain of the legendary Enterprise-C, and perhaps the only reason the Federation exists past the TNG era, gets one episode in TNG, a shallow side role in an atrocious movie, and an ugly red statue that barely stays relevant to the Picard plot. I want to see the Enterprise-C and her crew on the screen! Why hasn't the Excelsior's charming Captain Sulu, member of the original Enterprise crew, gotten his own proper movie/series? Where is Admiral Kim, who was perpetually and unfairly and ensign for the duration of his voyage through the other side of the galaxy?

There is so much storytelling potential here, and yet the executives at Paramount, the writers of NuTrek, and many of the fans, seem to insist on beating a dead horse. I mean, Kirk is literally dead. Just let him rest in peace, and give some of the other characters a chance, for Q's sake!

Where is the Lost Era, a huge missing gap in the Trek timeline that has, for some stupid reason, almost never been touched? What the f*ck even happened between the Enterprise-B's brief appearance and Picard's golden era? Why is it that we let Kurtzman butcher our only contemporary representation of the Lost Era, all while letting us down with a laughably short and completely two-dimensional version of Rachel Garrett?

If we really wanted to revisit and expand upon an era we've already seen, why not go to the Dominion War? There's so much potential for storytelling there. For example, I'd love to watch a series about a crew serving on an Akira-class starship (let's get some starship diversity in there, too!) both fighting on the front lines and exploring the undiscovered areas of the Alpha Quadrant. It would be about the struggles of daily life during a conflict, the pain and trauma violence can inflict, the uplifting moments that hold the crew together during hardship, and the unexpected discoveries that make them scientists, always. There would be a minimum of shallow, superficial Kurtzman-style weekly therapy sessions and sobfests. The story would be impactful and raw, especially considering how relevant such a plot would be to our real world today. And just think about the absolute fountains of juicy storytelling opportunity: Cardassians, the Maquis--and its destruction--human colonies, Bajorans, Klingons, Romulans, sabotageur Changelings (not too much of this, since we just got PIC S3), and, of course, the Dominion and its allies. And no need to include the Borg beyond the obligatory Borg episode or two.

Why, in this massive universe, bursting with characters and possibilities, are we going back to Kirk again?! Well, not "we." If you want to do that, good for you. But I need a fresh start.

I'll look forward to the next show or movie--as long as I'm not watching Kirk for the millionth time.

On a side note, the first couple of episodes have been pretty good. I know a lot of people disliked or even despised Discovery, but I think the suspense and emotional turmoil in S1 were pretty well written. The action and visuals were cool, but not trippy and over-the-top like in the later seasons. If there weren't all the continuity issues for people to nitpick, I think it could have been a really solid start. And, if Disco had kept a similar tone throughout the show, I think I would have enjoyed it more than the weekly hopecore therapy session it became.

Anyways, Burnham said that the Vulcans always fire first when they encounter Klingons, as Klingons understand and respect this combative language. Captain Geourgiou shot down (pun intended) this idea, stating that 1) the Shenzhou was "wildly outgunned" and 2) "Starfleet never fires first," especially on "innocent" people. Admiral Brett Anderson also ordered the captain not to provoke the Klingons. Besides, Saru (?) said, firing on the Klingons first didn't guarantee that the Klingons would be discouraged--they might shoot back instead.

We know that T'Kuvma was planning to unite the houses and attack. All he needed was an excuse to start the war, which was the arrival of the Federation fleet. Despite Captain Georgiou's statement that the Shenzhou wasn't powerful enough to engage the Klingons alone, it seems this was wrong. We saw that, later on, a single photon torpedo delivered directly to the Sarcophagus ship's very thick neck was apparently enough to decapitate it. That's a design flaw of Klingon ships I've always been bothered by--and perhaps a wild exaggeration of a photon torpedo's firepower--but technical details aside, the Shenzhou could have attacked first.

And yet, there was no telling whether or not the other Klingons would retaliate. By the time Burnham recommended the destruction of the beacon and mutinied in an attempt to preemptively attack, the Klingon fleet was almost certainly on its way already. Seeing their fellow Klingons under attack upon their arrival may have just angered them, which would have furthered T'Kuvma's plan. However, Captain Georgiou's addressing the Klingons with "We Come in Peace" only provoked the Klingons, leading to the exchange of fire.

So, it seems the Shenzhou's crew was stuck between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, they could have followed Michael's recommendation and attacked first, which could have caused retaliation or been a successful show of force against the Klingons. Although, we should keep in mind that Sarek warned Burnham that Klingons might respond differently to Starfleet employing the tactic than to Vulcans. On the other hand, Starfleet's passivity made no difference in T'Kuvma's plan to start a war, and instead their bid for peace provoked the Klingons.

Burnham's proposal to strike first was built on historical precedent and a knowledge of Klingon culture. Yes, it was remarkably un-Starfleet-like, and it may have been denied regardless, as Starfleet fundamentally just doesn't shoot first. It's one of the principles that makes the Federation so ethical and diplomatically trustworthy. But, it may have been better than the alternative, which was to sit and wait for the Klingon's 100% guaranteed, inevitable attack. And I'm pretty sure the fleet new it was going to happen, no matter how desperately they hoped for a peaceful outcome.

I think Burnham may have been right, but that doesn't undermine Georgiou's and Anderson's moral dedication to peaceful negotiation. I honestly think it may have been a bit of a Kobayashi Maru situation; T'Kuvma's masterplan was really that good. And Georgiou rightfully disregarded Saru's recommendation of fleeing the scene, as that would be a show of severe cowardice and was most likely the worst possible option.

Do you all think Burnham was right? She was obviously under the influence of her past trauma, but her logical reasoning still seemed sound. We'll never know what would have happened if Starfleet gave the Klingons a "Vulcan Hello."

Also, R.I.P. Ensign Danby Connor. He was real cute.

Edit: people keep saying that her court martial was justified. Obviously, it was; she deserved to be punished for her insuboordination. But that's not the point of my post. My question is: was her logic right? Could the outcome have been better if Starfleet had fired first?

I know it never got its own show, but it's an iconic ship, and among the most popular. And plenty of other ships without shows have gotten model kits. Why haven't AMT, Polar Lights, or other model kit companies made the Akira-class? Is it because it's only existed as a CGI model?

There was recently a post asking what would happen if procs were guaranteed on crits, and we agreed that that would be devastating to the game. However, 2.5% is so low that weapon procs usually only hit a handful of times in a TFO, making them negligible. What if that chance were doubled, tripled, or quadrupled? Would it make weapon flavor a legitimate and interesting consideration in STO builds? Why haven't proc chances ever been raised before?

In dozens upon dozesn upon dozens of reengineering rolls, I haven't been able to get a single [phaser] mod on any of my four hangar craft power transmission consoles. I've been at this B.S. for three days. When I was farming isomags, I often got phaser rolled in a few to a dozen tries.

Now, I'm getting repeats of [EPG], [CtrlX], and [Kin+Phys] and not a single freaking [phaser] mod!!!

Is the system rigged somehow to favor some mods over others?!