Calgary Mayoral Election 2021

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Since Naheed Nanshi has declared that he isn’t going to run for Mayor in 2021, it’s time to take a look at the list of who is running and decide who is worth considering.

The list of Candidates can be found on the City of Calgary website, as of July 19th, there are 20 candidates listed. The final official list of candidates will be made available after September 20, 2021.

The initial biographies of the candidates are from Sprawl Calgary.

There is also a good review of the candidates websites by glazerspoon on Reddit.

As in previous years I’ll be looking for candidates that have at least some experience in either politics or business. I’ll be eliminating anyone that seems to be a “one issue” candidate and I’ll also be be eliminating any that has a grand list of what they would like to do but fails to offer up any suggestions on how they plan to accomplish it.

The issues that I am interested in are:

  • The Green Line – I’m in favour of the Green Line, and improved public transit in general.
  • Bike Lanes – I’m also in favour of Bike Lane.
  • Covid Vaccinations – Any candidate that opposes Covid vaccinations will probably land in the Assorted Nuts group. I have a little more tolerance for an anti masking stance, depending on the reasoning, but it would definitely be a negative.
  • Police Budget – This is a tough one. I would only be in favor of this if the money was guaranteed to go to services that would move some responsibilities from the police to more appropriate services. It’s a tough issue

Unlike most of the posts I do on this page, I’m planning on going in and changing and adding to this one as things move along. I’ll be rearranging the list and adding additional information on the candidates as I discover it.

I will be assigning candidates to various categories as I review them, as well as adding my opinions on them. It’s quite possible that a candidate could change categories as the campaign goes along. The categories are:

  • Serious Candidates – These are candidates that seem to be invested in their campaign and have a reasonable chance of getting votes. All former Councilors land here and a few others as well.
  • Unreviewed – Candidates that I don’t know much about yet and haven’t reviewed yet.
  • Frivolous Candidates – These candidates are ones that have either put very little effort into their campaign, only address one or two issues, or don’t seem to have any realistic details on how to accomplish what they are proposing.
  • Assorted Nuts – Candidates that in my opinion are either nuts themselves or anyone voting for them would have to be nuts or have other even less desirable qualities.

The initial arrangement will simply be listing them in the order that they appear on the City website, which appears to be alphabetical. As things progress I may move people that I consider to be serious candidates to the top and others to the bottom. Note, just because someone is a serious candidate doesn’t mean I would consider voting for them. For example, It would take a minor miracle for me to vote for Farkas even though he has to be considered a serious candidate.

SERIOUS CANDIDATES

Jeromy Farkas

The rookie councillor for Ward 11, who was elected on a campaign of low taxes and fiscal restraint, declared his candidacy in September 2020. Prior to serving on council, Farkas was a senior fellow at the Canada Strong and Free Network (the conservative think-thank formerly known as the Manning Centre), and executive assistant for the Israel studies program at the University of Calgary.

The Sprawl

Website: jeromy.ca

Brent’s Thoughts: Jeromy Farkas seems to be the go to candidate for those who don’t like Naheed Neshi, I can certainly see why he appeals to a lot of voters. His four priorities listed his website sound good, Economic Growth, Financial Responsibility, Better Core Services, and Building Calgary for the 21st Century. However, as my Ward 11 Councilor, he voted against almost everything that I agreed with. He also violated the Code of Conduct at least once that I remember, and his whole stunt with starting a petition on the Dairy Queen rebuild issue was very likely a breach of his oath of office. In my opinion, he picks issues and stances that will bring attention to himself and I don’t believe he is sincere or trustworthy, but your mileage may vary.

Jyoti Gondek

The Ward 3 councillor was first elected to city hall in 2017. Prior to her political career, Gondek was director of the Westman Centre for Real Estate Studies at the University of Calgary and sat on various community boards. She says Calgarians should be seen as “investors” in the city and has described herself politically as “completely a centrist.”

The Sprawl

Website: jyotigondek.ca

Jeff Davison

After a single term on council, Davison is running for mayor and billing himself as a “pro-business” candidate who has worked with organized labour to freeze their wages, shifted the tax burden away from small businesses, and voted to constrain the city’s budget. He says his major accomplishment is passing the arena deal with an expanded event centre.

The Sprawl

Website: jeffdavisonyyc.com

Brad Field

Calgary businessman and self-proclaimed “serial entrepreneur,” Brad Field supports the construction of both the Green Line and the new event centre, as well as cutting taxes and services—including the police budget. Field says council should simply impose lower speed limits in Calgary, rather than put it to a plebiscite.

The Sprawl

Website: votebradfield.ca

UNREVIEWED

David oZone Clark

Clark announced his campaign on a snowmobiling forum website post. He says he wants to eliminate photo radar tickets and monthly recycling fees as well as “freeze” the Green Line and both property and commercial taxes. He also wants to make 17th Ave. a one-way street with a 40 km/h speed limit, but does not specify which way it would go.

The Sprawl

Website: snowandmud.com

Jan Damery

Damery is a vice-president at the YWCA. Before that she worked at United Way, and in the oil and gas industry. Damery wants to encourage business activity, use a life-cycle cost analysis for city planning to reduce costs, expand the city’s parks system and start construction on the Green Line.

The Sprawl

Website: jandamery.com

Emile Gabriel

Gabriel, who previously ran for mayor in 2017, says he’s running against the “career politicians” at city hall. He says his first act as mayor would be to establish a two-term limit on the office. Gabriel’s website is still under construction. His Facebook page lists him as a civil engineer with a PhD in management, however he isn’t registered with APEGA, the province’s official engineering professional body.

The Sprawl

Website: emile4calgarymayor.com

Zac Hartley

A businessman and one-time Dragon’s Den contestant, Hartley promises to donate half his mayoral salary to local charities and cut costs at city hall if elected. He also wants to scrap the Green Line, end funding for “terrible art installations” and establish a municipal tax on corporations.

The Sprawl

Website: zacformayor.com

Dean Hopkins

Hopkins is a British veteran who received the General Commanding Land Forces Bosnia Commendation for his service in the former Yuglosavia. He settled in Calgary about a decade ago. Besides supporting term limits for councillors and mayors, Hopkins wants to ban single-use plastics and ensure recycled materials get sorted and diverted from landfills.

The Sprawl

Website: deanhopkinsyyc.ca

Zane Novak

Former president of the Kerby Centre for seniors and current president of ZKO Oilfield Industries, Novak is calling to upgrade the city to “Calgary 2.0”. He wants the city to work more closely with developers to create a growth plan and is concerned about the costs of the Green Line’s northern portion.

The Sprawl

Website: zane4mayor.ca

Teddy Ogbonna

A Nigerian immigrant, Ogbonna is the founder of Youth for Transparency International, an organization aiming to get young people civically engaged. Ogbonna’s LinkedIn page identifies him as a former board member of the Calgary-McCall UCP constituency association. On Facebook, he accused the Calgary Police Service of adopting a “Marxist world view” after Chief Mark Neufeld acknowledged systemic racism.

The Sprawl

Website: teddy4calgary.ca

Mizanur Rahman

Rahman ran for the Alberta NDP in Calgary-West in 2015, placing a distant second, but currently sits on the board of directors of the UCP constituency association in Calgary-Currie. Rahman, who speaks Bengali, English, French, Italian, Hindi and Urdu, immigrated to Canada from Bangladesh in 1988. He supports the Green Line and arena deal, but opposes the downtown revitalization plan.

The Sprawl

Website: mizanurrahman.ca

Shaoli Wang

A geologist by trade, Wang ran as an independent in last year’s federal election in the Calgary Rocky Ridge riding. He wants to bring property taxes down to 2015 levels by 2025, and to “tie the police budget to the crime rate reversely.”

The Sprawl

Website: shaoliw.com

Grace Yan

A commercial real estate agent by trade, Yan wants the city to attract investment through tax breaks and other incentives for big and small businesses, and turn vacant downtown buildings into housing as part of a broader revitalization effort. She expresses skepticism about the Green Line and bike lines, while supporting increased police funding.

The Sprawl

Website: graceyanformayor.com

FRIVOLOUS CANDIDATES

Ian Chiang

The first thing I noticed about Ian Chiang is he is one of three candidates that don’t have a website listed, or any other social media connections. I have no idea who he is, what his views are or why he is running for mayor.
All I found was one completely uninformative YouTube video.

Grant Prior

The second candidate without a webpage or social media presence listed.

Sunny Singh

The third candidate without a webpage

ASSORTED NUTS

Paul Michael Hallelujah

The primary plank of Hallelujah’s platform is to use fMRI technology to screen for a predisposition to pedophilia among people in positions of power. A bitcoin mining equipment salesman, Hallelujah claims eating meat causes cancer and wants to build a signal for detecting alien life in space based on geometric shapes on Jupiter and Saturn.

The Sprawl

Website: hallelujah.news

Larry Heather

Billing himself as a fiscal and social conservative, Heather is involved in efforts to issue an injunction against the city’s mask bylaw. He ran for mayor in 2017 and notoriously sued to have the election results overturned, relying on an 1877 Supreme Court decision to accuse Mayor Nenshi of exercising “undue influence,” which was rejected.

The Sprawl

Website: larryforcalgary.co

Kevin J. Johnston

Johnston, who is currently in jail awaiting trial on charges of causing a disturbance at the Core Centre in relation to his anti-mask agitation, also faces an assault charge in B.C. and hate crime charges in Ontario. He previously ran in the 2018 Mississauga municipal election and placed a distant second with 13.5% of the vote. Calgary city council opted against releasing a voters’ list for candidates this year after Johnston threatened to reveal the private information of healthcare workers.

The Sprawl

Website: kevinjjohnston.ca

Brent’s Thoughts: Kevin and anyone who votes for him should be smacked with a mostly frozen tuna.

STA Mission Report 17 – We Are The Stars That Sing With Our Life

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Adventure Source: Living Campaign Adventure 07

Meetup Link: https://www.meetup.com/Star-Trek-Gaming/events/268429703/

Game Date: March 14 2021

Session Post: No Session Post

Teaser: Following the discoveries on Seku VI during the episode Signals, Starfleet has ordered all starships assigned to Narendra Station to the region around the Alpha Toryui star system. They are to assist in the recovery of a civilian archaeological team and in assisting a Starfleet Corps of Engineers Geospatial survey platoon from Alpha Toryui II after long range sensors detected that the primary of the system was days from gravitational collapse and becoming a supernova.

Active Characters:

  • Cmd. O’Nnyah (Raven)
  • Lt. Cmd. Reittan Andreas (Jon)
  • Lt Cmd. Taemin Rahn (Garrett)
  • Lt. Jr. Wolfgang Ratzel (Terry)
  • Dok – Ferengi arms designer/dealer (Kelly)

Important NPCs:

  • Captain Georj Brandt – New Captain of the U.S.S. Kimura

Notes: This was a straight run through of the adventure as published so I have not provided a detailed description. My crew focused primarily on the sun and the orbiting debris rather than the planet itself. I had created a grid to keep track of time during this adventure. I intended it just as a tracker but it actually worked really well to increase tension during the game. The characters tokens would move down the grid as they took various actions, The dark lines indicated when gravimetric waves would hit the ship, and the supernova was at the bottom. The gold tokens were used to track the number of successes each round for extended tasks.

The countdown clock

Notable Information: More examples of the ancient alien technology have been found in the Alpha Toryui system. Energy is being drawn from the red giant star, which leads to the star’s collapse and the entire system gets pulled through a subspace rift. The telepathic and empathic members of the crew hear a voice saying “Tilikaal…help us…please…”

Mission Recap: Alpha Toryui is a three-planet system with a red giant star reaching the end of its life span in the center. Federation scientists are interested in the star as it has shown evidence of being far too young to be reaching the last stages of its existence before becoming a supernova and some researchers have suggested an ancient species may have performed a sort of stellar re-engineering project for an unknown purpose. Initial surveys of the three rocky worlds orbiting Alpha Toryui don’t show signs of any former inhabitation or terraforming. The only evidence the unknown species left behind of their presence in the system were wrecked and useless orbital constructs circling the bloated red primary. There were also chambers found on Alpha Troyui II that contained some artifacts and and many obviously artificial complexes.

The Crew of the Kimura was deployed to the Alpha Toryui system to rendezvous with U.S.S. Mogami to assist in the evacuation of a team of archaeologists and several unique ancient artifacts from below the surface of the second world

Further scans of the system shows a strange sensor shadow deep in the star. The wreckage around the sun seems to have once been gravitationally bound to this sensor shadow. The are indications that suggest that there used to be a second , high mass object, that also orbited the star. This could be the sensor shadow but it proves to be impossible to get any good readings from it even after sending in probes. They do detect some flickers of power from some of the orbiting debris during one of the many flares from the sun.

Continue reading ‘STA Mission Report 17 – We Are The Stars That Sing With Our Life’ »

Aquarium – Populating the tank – Fish

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Of course, the main feature of an aquarium is the fish! I’ll start off with a recent video of what the aquarium looks like now:

This shows off most of the fish and other critters that currently live in my aquarium.

Of course you don’t start an aquarium off with a full population of fish, you need to add them over a period of time, in my case over three months. This gives the biological cycle time to get established and to adjust to the increased bioload of a fully populated tank. I started off with six Black Neons and two Bristlenose Plecos. It also shows what the tank looked like earlier on, and how much the plants have grown since then.

Continue reading ‘Aquarium – Populating the tank – Fish’ »

Aquarium – Populating the tank – Shrimp

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Another new thing for me with this aquarium is shrimp. I hadn’t actually even thought about them until I was reading up on what some of the best algae eaters are for aquariums and several types of shrimp were mentioned, along with Trumpet snails. I found a local supplier, SKA Shrimps & Nature Aquariums, that I purchased many of my shrimp from. I also purchased a few from Francos Aquariums and I think two from Petland.

I started out by buying three Red Sakura Shrimp and three Fire Red Shrimp. These are very similar. The Red Sakura started slightly larger but lighter in color than the Fire Red. Honestly, I don’t think I an tell them apart now. One of the Red Sakura’s died early on, but I can’t really get a good count anymore to tell how many I have in total, even though they are the easiest shrimp to spot.

One bag with shrimp, The Fire Reds I think
The other bag with the Red Sakura
Checking out their new surroundings
Continue reading ‘Aquarium – Populating the tank – Shrimp’ »

Aquarium – Populating the tank – Snails

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One of the things I’m trying with this tank that I hadn’t done before is including some snails. I’ve had infestations of small snails in other tanks in the past, and this tank has those too, but it also has some large Nerite Snails. These are nice because they come in many different varieties and they require salt water to breed, so they won’t overrun your tank.

The tank is set up with some plants, a few fish and a few snails
Another view of the tank to give perspective on the size. There is one Nerite snail on the bottom of the Stargate

I picked up several snails from Shrimp Keepers Anonymous, a local vendor here in Calgary. I bought two Zebra Nerites, two Tiger Nerites, two Tiger Nerites and four Malaysian Trumpet Snails. I was taking a chance on the Trumpet snails as I know they can breed rapidly, but I had something in mind for that possibility.

The reason I got them is that the Trumpet snails burrow through the substrate which helps prevent pockets of gas build up.

Sadly, one of the Tiger Nerites didn’t last. I’ll have to replace it at some point.

A container of snails ready to be added to the tank
Continue reading ‘Aquarium – Populating the tank – Snails’ »

Aquarium – Getting set up

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After about 20 years of not having an aquarium, I decided it was time to set a new one up. I have been thinking about it for a couple of years now and with the COVID19 pandemic and a permanent change to working from home the time was right. There was a good deal on a 35 Gallon bow front aquarium on Kijiji so that’s where I started. This was mid January, a good project for the new year.

The bundle I picked up off of Kijijji.
Pulled out the filter, Kermit hopped in to check out the view.
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STA Mission Report 16 – Signals

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Adventure Source: Living Campaign Adventure 06

Meetup Link: https://www.meetup.com/Star-Trek-Gaming/events/269404676/

Game Date: February 14 2021

Session Post: No Session Post

Teaser: A month ago, Starfleet picked up an unusual alien signal emanating from the Seku system, deep inside the Carina Nebula. The runabout Susquehanna was initially dispatched to investigate, but the crew failed to report and is presumed lost. Starfleet must investigate the source of the signal and locate the missing runabout.

Active Characters:

  • Cmd. O’Nnyah (Raven)
  • Lt. Cmd. Reittan Andreas (Jon)
  • Lt Cmd. Taemin Rahn (Garrett)
  • Lt. Cmd Asha (Jaime)
  • Dok – Ferengi arms designer/dealer (Kelly)

Important NPCs:

  • Captain Georj Brandt – New Captain of the U.S.S. Kimura

Notes: This was a straight run through of the adventure as published so I have not provided a detailed description.

Notable Information: The signal is being sent by ancient alien technology similar to that discovered on Orgun III (Decision Point). The signal performs like an echo locator – it’s waiting for a response from other obelisks in the Expanse.

Mission Recap: The Crew of the Kimura arrived in system and do an initial scan of Seku VI. They pick up signals from two Federation comm badges as well as indications that two small ships were recently in the system. One crashed on the planet and the other left.

Further scans reveal that the ship that crashed was a Romulan shuttle. They also pick up a settlement near where the source of the alien signal is coming from.

After carefully considering the dangers of trying to fly a shuttle down to the planet vs beaming down, they decide to risk the transporters, taking extra time and precautions to ensure a safe beam down.

They successfully beam down and as they start to move towards the Federation comm signals, they are attacked by two Romulans.

Continue reading ‘STA Mission Report 16 – Signals’ »

STA Mission Report 15 – Tug of War

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Adventure Source: Living Campaign Adventure 05 (slightly modified)

Meetup Link: https://www.meetup.com/Star-Trek-Gaming/events/269404676/

Game Date: January 10 2021

Session Post: No Session Post

Teaser: Extended stellar and planetary survey missions to a remote part of the Shackleton Expanse near Sigma Librae and the Romulan Star Empire find an interesting planetary system that contains two Class-M planets that orbit each other, that show signs of a sublight spacefaring civilization that has recently destroyed itself.

Active Characters:

  • Cmd. O’Nnyah (Raven)
  • Lt. Cmd. Reittan Andreas (Jon)
  • Lt Cmd. Taemin Rahn (Garrett)
  • Lt. Cmd Asha (Jaime)
  • Lt. Jr. Wolfgang Ratzel (Terry)
  • Dok – Ferengi arms designer/dealer (Kelly)

Important NPCs:

  • Captain Georj Brandt – New Captain of the U.S.S. Kimura

Notable Information: The solar system surrounding the star HIP 73513 is the location of a very rare Trojan pair of Class-M planets that both developed their own native sentient life. The first species to develop was on the smaller of the Class-M planets, a humanoid species that had developed in the tidal areas of their oceans and sharing many traits with Terran canines.

The other, larger world was named ‘Five Turns’ or more literally ‘Everything’ by its non-humanoid, radially symmetrical sentient species. The ‘Us’ didn’t evolve flexible manipulative digits equivalent to human thumbs and fingers, thus they were never able to develop any technologies besides fire.

Continue reading ‘STA Mission Report 15 – Tug of War’ »

STA Mission Report 14- Blinded by Science pt 2

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Adventure Source: Last Unicorn Games – A Fragile Peace – The Neutral Zone Campaign Vol. 1

Meetup Link: https://www.meetup.com/Star-Trek-Gaming/events/274517982/

Game Date: December 13 2020

Session Post: No Session Post

Teaser: Having successfully tested the three new sensors, and determining that one indeed works, the U.S.S. Kimura now turns to rendezvous with the U.S.S. Fortunate, a starship heading directly back to Earth to take the scientists home.

Each of the scientists are anxious to report to Starfleet Command: Sarok, to get his device into production; Kragen, to file a formal complaint to have the tests redone; and Nakamura to move on to her next assignment.

Captain Georj Brandt has arranged for a Yuletide celebration as a way for new and old crew members to get to know each other, and has invited the visiting scientists to join in.

The recreation room on Deck 2 has been decorated for the occasion, tasteful floral arrangements, platters of delicacies from throughout the Federation, guests dressed in their off-duty finest. A small band, comprised of fellow crewmembers plays requests.
A very peaceful and relaxing event. What could possibly go wrong?

Active Characters:

  • Cmd. O’Nnyah (Raven)
  • Lt. Cmd. Reittan Andreas (Jon)
  • Lt Cmd. Taemin Rahn (Garrett)
  • Lt. Kirkuurzhaav th’Zoarhi (Trevor)
  • Lt. Cmd Asha (Jaime)
  • Lt. Jr. Wolfgang Ratzel (Terry)
  • Dok – Ferengi arms designer/dealer (Kelly)

Important NPCs:

  • Captain Georj Brandt – New Captain of the U.S.S. Kimura
  • Ensign Jose-Maria “J.M.” Juaraz – Starfleet Engineering Assistant
  • Lt. Satchio Nakamura – Starfleet Science Officer
  • Gretel Vandermark – Technician
  • Sarok – Vulcan Scientist
  • Dr. Gustav Kragen – Human Scientist

Notable Information: Traveling to rendezvous with the U.S.S. Fortunate for the scientists’ return trip home, the Crew and scientists have another opportunity to socialize, this time at a Yuletide celebration. The revelry is interrupted by another distress signal, from another freighter. The Crew attempts to locate the attacker, using the new sensors, only to discover they no longer operate. In between the time of the test and the celebration, someone sabotaged the new sensors. It turns out that Gretel is a Romulan spy. She attempts to take Sarok hostage and escape but is quickly subdued. The Romulans leave with the information Gretel sent them about the sensors.

Continue reading ‘STA Mission Report 14- Blinded by Science pt 2’ »

STA Mission Report 13- Blinded by Science pt 1

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Adventure Source: Last Unicorn Games – A Fragile Peace – The Neutral Zone Campaign Vol. 1

Meetup Link: https://www.meetup.com/Star-Trek-Gaming/events/273527600/

Game Date: November 8 2020

Session Post: No Session Post

Teaser: “We have received orders to rendezvous with the U.S.S. Bradbury, en route to Starbase 173. We are to transfer over a Federation science team and take them to the edge of the Neutral Zone. It appears we’re hunting cloaked warbirds.
Recent encounters with the Romulans has convinced Starfleet there may be many Romulan vessels entering the Shackleton Expanse through the Neutral Zone and Federation space.
The science team brings with them three different sensor devices Starfleet Command wants tested. One of these sensors will, the confidently expect, be able to detect cloaked Romulan vessels. If it works, the cloaking device will be much less of a tactical advantage for the Romulans than it was in the past, giving the Federation a great advantage in the event of future hostilities.”

Active Characters:

  • Cmd. O’Nnyah (Raven)
  • Lt. Cmd. Reittan Andreas (Jon)
  • Lt Cmd. Taemin Rahn (Garrett)
  • Lt. Kirkuurzhaav th’Zoarhi (Trevor)
  • Lt. Cmd Asha (Jaime)
  • Lt. Jr. Wolfgang Ratzel (Terry)

Important NPCs:

  • Captain Georj Brandt – New Captain of the U.S.S. Kimura
  • Ensign Jose-Maria “J.M.” Juaraz – Starfleet Engineering Assistant
  • Lt. Satchio Nakamura – Starfleet Science Officer
  • Gretel Vandermark – Technician
  • Sarok – Vulcan Scientist
  • Dr. Gustav Kragen – Human Scientist

Notable Information: Several members of the U.S.S. Kimura, including Captain T’Kor, Cmd. Xedrik, Lt. Cmd. Sivath, Lt. Oqwadel, Chief Petty Officer Winston Emmet, and Chief Petty Officer Dallas Brenner have been transferred to the U.S.S. Galvarino after a sneak attack by Romulans killed many members of the Galvario’s command crew.
Captain Georj Brandt has been pulled out of Academy duty and assigned as the new Captain of the U.S.S. Kimura.
Three teams of scientists have been assigned to the Kimura to test out three different devices for locating cloaked Romulan vessels.

Captain Georj Brandt
Continue reading ‘STA Mission Report 13- Blinded by Science pt 1’ »