Posts

Of clocks and time changes

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As the star destroyer ISS Chimaera is currently in orbit above Dathomir, there has been no need to change the ship's clocks today. But on earth, where today is the closest Sunday to the local equinox, many cultures in the Northern hemisphere put their clocks forward an hour in the early hours of this morning. (Or back in the Southern hemisphere.) The Chimaera used to have a number of emergency use combined clocks and lights, not dependent on the ships main power supply, designed to provide light and a time-check if combat damage were to disrupt the ship's main lighting systems. When ships' time was synced to that of a planet, it was sometimes necessary at the local equinox.to send an ensign round the ship to re-set the these clocks to stay consistent with local time.  Last time this happened, some of these clocks failed to re-set and continued to show the wrong time. The Grand Admiral noticed and ordered the faulty clocks thrown out of the airlock, asking the young officer,...

Clocks go forward an hour tonight

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Clocks in Britain and much of Europe go forward an hour tonight as Britain and many other countries change to Summer time. 

Thrawn on Victory

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Honorverse book review: "The honor of the Queen" by David Weber

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" The Honor of the Queen " by David Weber, first published by Baen Books in 1993 (and I'm looking at my copy from the first paperback printing of this one too as I type) was the second book in the "Honorverse" series, featuring the far future space navy officer Honor Harrington. This series has grown to contain, currently as of March 2026, more than forty books, set in a future universe in which mankind began to disperse over much of the galaxy, starting in 2103 AD. This story is set two yeas after the first one, " On Basilisk Station " e.g. about two thousand years in our future: according to the calendar used in the novel it is set in 1902 "post Diaspora," which corresponds to 4008 AD (or Common Era, CE.) These stories have sometimes been described as "Ms Hornblower in space."  The assumed space travel and weapons technologies described in the books presents fifth millennium (by our calendar) space navy officers with tactical and ...

Thrawn's private thoughts on how to build a better Empire

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A piece of fan fiction but a very good one, a recording Thrawn supposedly made after returning to the galaxy far, far away, as a warning to himself  to avoid the kind of arrogance he observed and depised in other. It ends with a great quote: "Order is not cruelty. But cruelty often wears its' uniform."

Star Wars - the final countdown

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Europe's "The Final Countdown" with video from the battle of Geonosis (Attack of the clones.)

Darth Vader's caption challenge

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 "Star Wars Daily" posted this image from "A New Hope" today on X and asked " What is Darth Vader saying? " The majority of replies came from boring pedants who insisted on giving the correct answer, which is " You are part of the Rebel Alliance and a traitor! Take her away. " However, there were a fair number of replies from people who, realising that this is a father pointing a finger at his 19-year-old daughter even if neither of them, nor anyone watching that film when it first came out, actually knew that, could not resist suggesting some more imaginative dialogue. Can anyone here suggest anything more amusing than the actual line in the film?