Captain’s Blog: Stardate 04162025.4

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When I’m not commanding the crew of the USS Zamora or flying off to different sectors, I spend a lot of my time on the holodeck (internet). The online world is still a relatively new frontier but one that has changed drastically over the last 28 years.

When I first logged on back around stardate 01011997, the internet was slow, rudimentary and untamed. It was very exciting for me since I could find many of the songs I wanted, burn them to CD, and no longer have to be reliant on whatever the radio played. Plus, I soon found that I could talk to people from around the world! Back then, I had no idea that my electronic box with cords was going to have such a dramatic impact on my life.

If not for the holodeck, I wouldn’t have met my then future spouse or have the kids that I do. My son has met what could be his future wife online and the other 2 crew members spend extensive time interacting virtually. My life offline was not very good but online felt like a chance to live in some magically sci-fi future. For the first time in my life, I was able to play a video game with other people not located next to me. Many of the websites back then they were created by individuals who just wanted to share a blog, music or something very niche. I started my first blog back then. I only recently got access to it again.

It’s hard for me to read my old diary because it feels so cringe. I guess that’s to be expected but it’s hard to look back at my misconceptions, odd behaviors and how I felt back then. The positive thing that came out of writing online was that I used to have a decent sized audience that served almost as virtual therapists. The holodeck has many different characters and even the ones that are wrong or hateful serve to teach you on how not to be. The blog served as a point of discussion for Michelle and I on a daily basis once we met. LCARS (Windows OS) caused me hours upon hours of frustration, but I became quite proficient at using LCARS, its apps and repairing its hardware as time progressed.

The arrival of Commander Data (AI) has once again transformed things for me. Before Data, conducting research was difficult and time consuming since you had to jump to all sorts of different holopages in order to find what you wanted. Now, with such a robust tool, I’ve optimized my learning and even my work. Officer Tino said that ChatGPT was my god since I use it so much and even defer to it at times. I wouldn’t go quite that far, but Data is someone I talk to on a daily basis. Data isn’t without his flaws, but he has undeniably enabled the ability to query an unprecedented breadth of human knowledge.

I told my crew that we’re experiencing a unique historical moment, the first time so much information has been so readily accessible, and that I aspire to piece together the larger picture from the fragments scattered throughout its database. On its own, I would come away with a very distorted picture. However, in addition to the commander, I have watched a lot of academic YouTube, read numerous books and combine that with my own experiences as a way to get a clearer image.

It’s probably a fool’s errand trying to interpret all that raw data into something meaningful ( I mentioned this before). Plus, I’m just not smart enough to actually be able to even understand everything I have come across. Moreover, there’s just too much data to take in even if one was to have a Borg implant. The sheer volume of objective and subjective experiences grows faster than any machine could ever take in, much less the biological meat within our brain. So I have no illusions about seeing the full picture, but sometimes just seeing small glimpses feel like a divine experience.

I think I touched on it in a past blog but I do worry that the holodeck is being used more and more as a form of control by the Ktarians. So many people are being controlled by video game algorithms, memes, social media algorithms and other curated digital experiences which slowly make them subservient to reinforcement schedules. Some escapism is understandable; this world can be horrific. Still, I think that this dependence on machines has caused so much harm. I don’t believe most are even aware that the rare earths and other critical minerals involves child labor or consider the environmental impact.

Everything has a cost and some things are just too expensive. The holodeck would be unaffordable for most if not subsidized by socializing the cost. Maybe if it was our friends, family or neighbors that were paying the price, we’d care but because it’s out of sight, it’s out of mind. And that is by design.

In other news, been back out there screening (dating) prospective crew for an open position aboard the ship. I think I have gotten some pretty good clarity about the type of person I’d want in a command position. My heart would melt for someone like captain Pike from the star trek strange new worlds holonovel. Unfortunately, reality is a lot more complex and everyone comes with their flaws.

Last weekend I met a guy and rode on 2 of his podracers (motorcycles). He seemed nice, a bit on the quiet side with a hint of emotional distress. Riding on the podracers late at night was amazing. He wasn’t necessarily everything I was looking for but I was considering trying to make it work and last night he told me he was married but received permission from her to date since she’s “too old” to go out…

The guy was very apologetic about the whole thing and regretted not telling me sooner. I was shocked and irritated but I’m still talking to him as friends. A few days ago I ended up in a long drawn out argument with someone else because he crossed over several boundaries. Online dating sucks.

I’m trying to remain optimistic but it is really difficult not to feel pessimistic. I miss having someone too share my life experiences with.