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Author of Beej's Guides.
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I’ve done a bunch of fun projects with Stands over the years. Today, we launched our latest: The Officially UNofficial Wesley Crusher Fan Club!
Over the years, I’ve met thousands of people who are around my age and grew up absolutely loving Wesley Crusher. They were inspired by him. They related to him when adults expected him to be an adult, but treated him like he was a kid. They wanted to be his friend on the Enterprise, part of his sick breakdancing crew. All the complaints about the — let’s generously say “uneven” — writing and early character development didn’t matter to them, they were just happy to see someone like them on Star Trek.
I never knew about that — we never knew about each other — because we were kids. But I’ve met so many of you, and I’ve shared your stories so widely, it’s not a sampling error. We all now know how beloved Wesley Crusher is and always was, so I conspired with my friends at Stands, and the Officially Unofficial Wesley Crusher Fan Club is open for members.
I love this. I think a lot of you are going to love it, too.
I think you’ll also love that every purchase supports GLSEN, an organization that works to ensure that LGBTQ students are able to learn and grow in a school environment free from bullying and harassment.
Enlarge (credit: The Serial Code/YouTube)
It's amazing, and a little sad, to think that something created in 1989 that changed how people used and viewed the then-nascent Internet had nearly vanished by 2024.
Nearly, that is, because the dogged researchers and enthusiasts at The Serial Port channel on YouTube have found what is likely the last existing copy of Archie. Archie, first crafted by Alan Emtage while a student at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, allowed for the searching of various "anonymous" FTP servers around what was then a very small web of universities, researchers, and government and military nodes. It was groundbreaking; it was the first echo of the "anything, anywhere" Internet to come. And when The Serial Port went looking, it very much did not exist.
The Serial Port's journey from wondering where the last Archie server was to hosting its own.
While Archie would eventually be supplanted by Gopher, web portals, and search engines, it remains a useful way to index FTP sites and certainly should be preserved. The Serial Port did this, and the road to get there is remarkable and intriguing. You are best off watching the video of their rescue, along with its explanatory preamble. But I present here some notable bits of the tale, perhaps to tempt you into digging further.
Enlarge (credit: Oleksandr Shatyrov | iStock Editorial / Getty Images Plus)
Within approximately 12 seconds, two highly educated brothers allegedly stole $25 million by tampering with the ethereum blockchain in a never-before-seen cryptocurrency scheme, according to an indictment that the US Department of Justice unsealed Wednesday.
In a DOJ press release, US Attorney Damian Williams said the scheme was so sophisticated that it "calls the very integrity of the blockchain into question."
"The brothers, who studied computer science and math at one of the most prestigious universities in the world, allegedly used their specialized skills and education to tamper with and manipulate the protocols relied upon by millions of ethereum users across the globe," Williams said. "And once they put their plan into action, their heist only took 12 seconds to complete."