Addition is a serious issue, and geeks are grossly susceptible. Unfortunately for serious geeks, we can have several addictions, each costing about as much as something classy like cigarettes or cocaine. The problem is the hobby begins to feed itself - if you’ve been doing something for 10 years, why stop?

Case in point, I’ve been a compulsive action figure collector for years, amassing a solid 300 plus figures.  I open the boxes, display them in awkward positions, and have oodles of fun.  Recently, my interests, especially financial, have been more focused on video games leaving me less budget for action figures forcing me to prioritize - the new Marvel Legends or dinner.

The problem is my action figure collection is so large, it begins to feed itself.  I want to buy more figures just to justify the figures I already bought.  If I stop buying them, it makes the first 300 look like a waste of money.  And that would be silly.

The challenge is always time and money.  I now have more video games than I have time to play, more comic books than I have time to read, too many movies and TV shows to watch, and obviously no social life.  So it’s always a challenge when I want to buy something else, but can’t figure out where to fit it.

For action figures, I’ve slowed my purchasing, weaning myself off the addition.  I still buy figures I’ve had on my must list for a while like Ra’s Al Ghul and upcoming Despero.  Thankfully Hasbro’s take on Marvel Legends is so crappy otherwise this would be much more of a struggle.  Of course, new Battlestar Galactica figures are just too tempting.

So I’m not really one to help you cure the addictions.  Better to just come up with justifications.  Me, I promise to stop after the I get my life-size Lee Adama figure.

Battlestar Galactica, one of the best science fiction shows in like ever, returns April 4th with its final season and hopefully, some long sought after closure. Before the swan song, we have 20 episodes to answer all our anticipation filled questions. There is a big spoiler warning for this whole article. If you aren’t completely caught up on all the awesomeness that is Battlestar Galactica, do not waste time reading this post and go watch it now. So say we all.

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…SPOILER WARNING…finish Battlestar Galactica Season 2 before reading this post

Battlestar Galactica’s re-imagining has been a like a sci-fi wet dream in this Star Trek-deprived age.  With a staff comprised of almost all former Star Trek writers, Battlestar Galactica has improved on many of the sci-fi staples, streamlining technobabble to a need-to-know basis and focusing on creating a simple and believable fantasy world dealing with real issues.  The show’s catastrophic opening shows the robot Cylons wiping out almost the entire human civilization in a 9/11 worst-case-scenario allegory.  The show’s War of Terrorism allegory gets flipped when the remaining humans find a habitable planet, only to be conquered by the Cylons.  For a year, the Cylons occupy the humans who, in turn, launch a violent resistance, blowing up buildings with humans and Cylons.  The cut and dry Cylons are the terrorists gets ripped apart when now the Cylons are the occupier and the humans are the "freedom fighters."  Suddenly, the show complicates its own message  - what makes terrorists and what makes heroes?  And this is just a sample of what makes Battlestar Galactica the deepest space opera in the galaxy.  Politics and religion makes for greatest mindless entertainment.

Every geek dreams of commanding their own starship, but few get the chance.  I want to recognize the starship captains that have inspired us over the years.  They’ve shown up how to lead and how not to lead.  How to handle crisis and how not to handle crisis?  And most of all, how to speak every line with the gravitas of a Shakespearian actor.  Here’s to you, the 7 best starship captains and your gravitas.

7. Turanga Leela

The Planet Express ship might only be expected to deliver packages across the galaxy, but that hasn’t stopped Leela and her crew from stopped (and starting) interstellar catastrophes.  She’s help save the universe from random time skips to fighting giant bees, beetles, and women to doing with the nasty with an embarrassing cadre of space dorks.  All part of the job.

6. Captain Peter Quincy Taggart

So technically he’s a captain who isn’t a captain who becomes a captain but not really.  Well, for the sake of this list, Captain Peter Quincy Taggart can pretend to captain my ship any day.  Taggart captains the NSEA Protector on the classic TV series Galaxy Quest (best remembered in the documentary film of the same name).  On the show he foiled the greatest evil aliens the universe has ever seen, but his greatest triumph came in the 1999 Galaxy Quest film where he and his crew has to save an alien race from certain extinction.  Even though he was really an aging actor with no command experience except for lines in a script, Taggart rose to the occasion and saved the day.  Never give up. Never surrender.

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Usually I try to present simple web games or single file-install games, but after rediscovering Battlestar Galactica: Beyond the Red Line, I just had to sing its praises.  For a demo, this free stand-alone mod of the also excellent space simulator Freelancer 2 (you don’t need Freelancer 2 to play BSG: Beyond the Red Line) is the best recreation of the amazing sci-fi series.  You can take control of a Viper Mk II, Viper Mk VII, and Raider with more planned for the eventual full-release.  So far support this seems strong as a patch was released last week.  So take some time away from Master Chief and let’s shoot some toasters.  This commercial quality free game is available for PCs, Macs, and Linux.

Geek-Out Game: Battlestar Galactica: Beyond the Red Line

Just in time for primary season, I went over the greatest presidents no one ever voted for (well, not all).  These seven public servants are not necessarily good presidents; they have been great at being bad, but they are the most memorable and influential figures of their office.  They got stuff done, unlike most real world politicians (and none of them are good at all).  So here are the seven greatest presidents who get results (and just so happened to never exist).

7. President Skroob

The dashing president of planet Spaceball President Skroob finds out his planet is running out of oxygen.  While carefully orchestrating a PR campaign to keep the news hush-hush, he sends his flagship on a mission that will save his planet.  That mission is to kidnap the Princess Vespa and hold her for random to be paid in her planet’s air.  Brilliant plan, though maybe not presidential at first glance.  Then you realize all Skroob is trying to do is save himself, I mean his people.  Yeah, he’s kind of an idiot and he gets his head flipped around in a teleporter, but it’s Mel Brooks and who doesn’t want him as president.  I rest my case.

6. President Head of Richard Nixon

People in the future have the same crappy memories we do.  Nixon’s head, kept alive in a jar of futuristic liquid, becomes president of the United States of Earth on the series Futurama.  He first gains mobility by taking control of various robot bodies, including the crude, lude dude Bender.  Nixon’s head pushes Earth into an insanely aggressive interstellar policy, starting many wars and getting invaded even more.  Yes, this is a man’s head with conviction and determination to get stuff, no matter how pointless, done.

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Picture a Star Destroyer or Cylon Basestar. Which is bigger? Who knows? Well, you might, but don’t spoil it for the rest of us. Star Trek Minutiae compiled 4 graphics comparing the sizes of starships from Star Wars, Star Trek, Babylon 5, and BSG (new and old) plus some other bonuses. Check out all the nerdy measuring here and see how your favorites size up.

Small ships

For the rest, check out Star Trek Minutiae.