MacroFab Engineering Podcast #152
MacroFab Engineering Podcast #152
Josh Rozier returns for the 5th time on the podcast which might be some kind of record. This time Josh talks about his beginnings in laying out PCBs.
Josh Rozier and Hyr0n join Parker and Stephen to talk about the latest Star Wars lore, technology, and media! Star Wars HeathKits and The Mandalorian.
Josh Rozier returns to talk about designing and building custom audio transformers.
Visit our Public Slack Channel and join the conversation in between episodes!
Parker is an Electrical Engineer with backgrounds in Embedded System Design and Digital Signal Processing. He got his start in 2005 by hacking Nintendo consoles into portable gaming units. The following year he designed and produced an Atari 2600 video mod to allow the Atari to display a crisp, RF fuzz free picture on newer TVs. Over a thousand Atari video mods where produced by Parker from 2006 to 2011 and the mod is still made by other enthusiasts in the Atari community.
In 2006, Parker enrolled at The University of Texas at Austin as a Petroleum Engineer. After realizing electronics was his passion he switched majors in 2007 to Electrical and Computer Engineering. Following his previous background in making the Atari 2600 video mod, Parker decided to take more board layout classes and circuit design classes. Other areas of study include robotics, microcontroller theory and design, FPGA development with VHDL and Verilog, and image and signal processing with DSPs. In 2010, Parker won a Ti sponsored Launchpad programming and design contest that was held by the IEEE CS chapter at the University. Parker graduated with a BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering in the Spring of 2012.
In the Summer of 2012, Parker was hired on as an Electrical Engineer at Dynamic Perception to design and prototype new electronic products. Here, Parker learned about full product development cycles and honed his board layout skills. Seeing the difficulties in managing operations and FCC/CE compliance testing, Parker thought there had to be a better way for small electronic companies to get their product out in customer's hands.
Parker also runs the blog, longhornengineer.com, where he posts his personal projects, technical guides, and appnotes about board layout design and components.
Stephen Kraig began his electronics career by building musical oriented circuits in 2003. Stephen is an avid guitar player and, in his down time, manufactures audio electronics including guitar amplifiers, pedals, and pro audio gear. Stephen graduated with a BS in Electrical Engineering from Texas A&M University.
Special thanks to whixr over at Tymkrs for the intro and outro!
Hi welcome to the third annual macro fab Star Wars Christmas special podcast. I'm your guest, Josh Rocher.
And we are your host, Stephen
Gregg and Parker Dolman.
This is episode 152. By day Josh Roser does business intelligence and data analytics for a large East Coast insurance monolith by night he is Roz a level five scoundrel and chief troublemaker of the Star Wars de 20 RPG group.
So Josh, how do you and Steven know each other?
So Steve and I probably met at it's got to be about like, fifth? I don't know. 15 years or so ago. We were in. I was in high school. Right?
I was in high school. So
1617 We knew each other through friends of friends. He played guitar, I played drums. My parents had a garage and we liked similar music. So
and the magic happened that one fateful night. Yeah, I
think I think more or less, you know, their drummer that they had on in their band that that's that Steve with? What was the name of the
oh, it was no guarantees.
That's right. Yeah, that's
no guarantees. I wasn't an emo band. Like a full on. It was like emo pop punk. It was embarrassing. But
this is gonna get cut from the podcast that probably Yeah, no recording is gonna go missing.
Yeah, well, our drummer. Well, let's put it this way. Josh was better than our drummer. And so we tried to recruit Josh, and he didn't actually ended up playing with that band. But we just ended up making a friendship instead.
Yeah. So we stayed in contact for years. Steve was best man in my wedding. I was best man in his wedding. And, you know, he can't get rid of me now. So,
yeah, but But Roger Ailes is a complete Star Wars nerd. Right.
True. True story. Yeah, actually. I'm now prepping the next generation of little Roz's. It's like every family movie night. That's the first thing they asked for. What are you guys? What do you kids wouldn't watch Star Wars. Actually, we watched Rogue One today with my son and didn't blow his mind. Well, so it was like, pretty good, huh? He's like, he's like on the verge of tears. I'm like, son, what? What's wrong? He goes, there's no Luke Skywalker. Where's Luke Skywalker? I'm like, It's okay. But he's he's on tattooing, like, futzing around with some droids right about now. You're good.
And you want your son's what? Five? Yeah, he's
five. He's kindergartener. So, Star Wars is about the most important thing in his life right now. So
as it should be. Let's that sounds like you're bringing him up. Well,
I'm proud. I'm a proud father.
So yeah, this is the third annuals McWrap Star Wars Christmas special podcast. So I guess we should just go ahead and just jump right in the Star Wars. Yeah,
we do this every year where we talk about the technology of Star Wars and we get a little bit nerdy about it. Not a little bit, we get a lot a bit nerdy about it.
I mean, it's also like, it's our podcast, so we're always nerdy. So
we'll I'm glad I'm glad thanks for the invite. I'm glad I could be part of the third annual this is this sounds like fun. I've been I've been anticipating since you guys sent me the text. I don't know couple of weeks back. I've been like listening and watching YouTube videos on like, a what they call it now legends, right. But it was the expanded universe back in the day. So I got lots of mental material saved up here.
Well, wait, didn't didn't Disney pull the plug on the Extended Universe? Yeah,
do they retcon the whole thing. They just nuked it all. And they were like, alright, we don't like any of this. You know, king, King Disney. Michael Eisner, or whatever. His name is Eiger. I don't care. Yeah, he pretty much just pulled the pull the plug on pretty much all the backstory that I've learned since I was a kid. But
yeah, that part kind of sucks. But when you actually did look at a lot of the EU stuff it a lot of it was bad.
Yeah, some of it started getting a little crit. Like, don't even get me started on the Yuuzhan Vong or any of that.
Other future stuff.
Yeah, well, it just felt like well, basically what LucasArts would do is there would be like, basically, someone would say, I'd want to write A Star Wars Story, and they're like, sure, do it.
Well, so So this is how ridiculous it got. So in defense of the decision to like, nuke the whole thing, right? I don't agree with it. 100%. But So Cloud City, the second movie Empire Strikes Back, right? There's the part where Lando gets on the horn and tells everybody evacuate the Empires taken over the city. Well, as people are running out, there's this. This dude, he's running out with an ice cream machine. And you see him for like, a second in the movie. There's an entire bio written about that guy now because Expanded Universe and what he was carrying and his backstory and were like, it gotten a little ridiculous, but
it's, I suppose Disney was thinking maybe they should just this is this is gonna sound mean, and I don't mean it this way. But drain the swamp and start over, you know, this? Yeah, actually
a little bit, because I think the problem with the old EU or legends, as it's called now is there was no cohesive umbrella that tied everything together. Not to say that episode 807, and eight, also, they lack that same problem of that overarching storyline as well. But at least all the new the new extended universe stuff that Disney has been coming out with, like, it makes sense. And like they're connected and like everything's, it's actually really good. Like, there hasn't been something that's come out from Disney in the expanded universe stuff yet. That's been bad.
Yeah, I mean, I haven't been keeping track with what they're new. Like, they call it canon, I guess now. Right? And I don't know. You know, I don't really have a clear idea of what's canon. What isn't? Obviously the movies are canon. There's some there's some other like, related I know, they have some cartoons that run that had been running for years that are considered canon and all those backstories. But for the most part, like, you know, we'll see, I don't know, I'm not gonna worry about that. For this discussion. We can kind of see if you guys call me out on anything. I'll be perfectly fine with it. But
I personally don't care. Well, there's one thing that I really hoped for. And actually, this came off of a video I was watching about. Family Guy, you know, how family guy did a few Star Wars episodes,
right? Blue Harvest, they did like a standalone episode, right? Yeah. Well,
they did three standalone episodes that were like an hour long. And the entire time they're making fun of Star Wars. And but I watched something about that. And they they mentioned the writers mentioned that LucasArts was fantastic to work for. Because basically, they didn't have to really even ask permission for anything. They were like, can we just write Star Wars jokes? And LucasArts was like, Yeah, sure. And they and they said, What can we do and what can't we do? And they're like, just whatever. And I kind of like, and it's great, like the Star Wars universe was like, super open with loops at LucasArts. Because they just let anyone do anything. And I sort of hope that Disney allows a little bit of that, because
George Lucas was probably doing the Scrooge McDuck routine through all of his cash at that point. He's like, Yeah, whatever.
You want to pay me money. Yeah.
All right. Well, let's let's go ahead and break right into it. So each year, we ask our guests at the beginning, what is your favorite Star Wars character?
So, so that I've been struggling with this, you ask you ask them. I'm not gonna say I'm like King Uber nerd about Star Wars. But, you know, as far as sci fi is concerned, this is the pinnacle for me. So I've been like struggling with the question. So as far as, as far as squish is concerned, like, I started on okay. Boba Fett, right. So like, Boba Fett was badass up until the prequels and then they did the like. Part of the mystery. Like the good thing about Boba Fett was the mystique like you didn't know who he was. He didn't say much. He wore this badass Mandalorian armor. And then they just screwed it all up by showing us this little kid like running around with a funky accent and a bad haircut. Like I don't need to know who Boba Fett was. He was badass because I didn't know who he was. So
what do you think about the Mandalorian? Then?
I'm excited because so I hope they don't do something stupid. Like say, Oh, it's just like he had another clone in the closet. Django did and they trump like marched him out. No, apparently what? There's a lot of rumors online, right? But
it's like Venture Brothers.
Yeah, from what I can understand. It's like, it's like somebody who was inspired by Boba Fett or Django fat or both, and like, had a set of Mandalorian armor or came across it somehow. And I hope I hope they, they don't try and tie it too close to either of those characters. So long story short, I can't pick Boba Fett.
Real quick. You know what's going through my head right now to keep that mystique that you're talking about? I could see him in a movie where he never takes his helmet off ever. And they show scenes of him like sleeping and he's got his helmet on. He's taken a shower.
Got that helmet on? Eating? Looking? Yeah, so I still Boba Fett from the original trilogy. Yeah, badass but once you start getting crazy, stupid, right they just ruin that character for me. Then I was like okay, well Cassie AND and OR from Rogue One he's pretty badass because he's like a super flawed character right first one of the first scenes you see him in he freakin shot like OFSAA dude by shooting them in the back like super shady kind of like morally questionable but means to an end kind of character like true like chaotic good kind of person right? But then I was like you know I'd like rumor has it they're working on like potentially maybe a kasi an indoor spin off maybe some of his backstory also like the fact that he's kind of like a like a not James Bond but you know he's like this special ops kind of rebel soldier which they don't show a lot of you know usually it's the Jedi flying around in the tight in the the X Wing and like, you know, super Golden Boy Mr. Magoo, like Luke Skywalker, and this guy's kind of shady and then in the shadows, I would pick him but he's he's out rolled and this was my way of picking three characters here if you haven't figured it out yet. I gotta go with Darth Vader. That's one of the best villains in cinema. Forget like I understand he's his stories weakened by the trilogy. And like,
I'm your prototypical fanboy, right the truth you suck. But no Vader. It's he's he's got the conflict. He's very complex. The suit the lightsaber, like all the backstory, everything that's been written about him. It's hard not to pick Vader in my mind. And
he was pretty awesome in row one, too.
Yeah, that's 30 seconds of him walking down the hall. And just Well, that was that was the first or one of the first times in Star Wars movies where we like, we see him being like, actually evil as like Vader. Like, actually, like go like wreck and shit.
But But But isn't that isn't that sort of like going back to the mystique? Isn't that sort of exactly how it's supposed to be? Where you never in the prequels you don't really see him do a ton of evil so it's up to your own mind to project and
just didn't do a ton of evil yet in the episode three he just murdered like five like crazy children. But
but so I don't mean the prequels. I apologize. I mean, the the four fights the original truly original. That's what I mean.
You're right. He just like forced chokes a couple people. And that's about it.
The first guy he forced you it will exit. Okay, so the first guy he chokes, he doesn't do it with the Force. He does it with his hand. And then the second guy that he chokes, he actually let's go.
Yeah, that's true, because Tarkin bitched at him. Yeah, basically,
yeah, yeah.
No, no, you're forgetting about the part when he gets onto the blockade runner ship. And he picks up the
No, that's, that's what I'm talking about. That's the first person he kills. And he does it without the force
casually crushes his trachea with his fingers. Yeah. Yep. His fake fingers.
That's you know, and so one quick thing actually on the row, one character, I can't remember his name. Kassian. Right. kacian
andorre. Yeah.
What I love about that is it shows kind of the cross section of what the rebels are willing to accept? Mainly because, like, that's, that's just like the Joe Schmo that's out there right now.
Well, yeah. And I mean, we don't know if we'll get into, you know, discussion about which movies we think are good and why, but I'm sure it'll be part of the discussion, but I feel like I that to the end. I feel like that's why that's why Rogue One in my mind was one of their stronger efforts, right? Because I feel like the movie kind of grew up with the audience in a sense and it if I heard rumors that they even if the original screening that they showed Disney Disney was like, this is a little too dark. You guys have to cut some of this out and they did so like even what you see now is slightly sanitized by the mouse and we'll see. It's still it's, it's, you know, gritty and kind of it's like a Star Wars war movie.
It reminds me a lot of like, kind of like Band of Brothers Z.
Yeah. Kind of set up. Yeah, well, and that's the cool thing is is it's willing to show characters that aren't like, perfect. And that's what makes it believable. Right? If you've got the perfect character who always makes the right decision and the good guys always win and you know, there's all always, you know, some light at the end of the tunnel. Well, everybody freaking dies at the end of that movie.
Spoiler alert.
If anybody's listening to this podcast by this point what's wrong? One? Like three years old, two years old at this point?
Yeah. Well past that your limitations on that. Yeah,
I think we're actually past statutes on on episode eight. We might correct might be last so Roz your, your favorite character? We've boiled it down to Vader, and that's totally respectable. So that so the second question that we ask all of our guests is, what's your favorite droid?
This one's pretty easy for me actually. It's que tu SL from Rogue One. Part of it is because he's a reprogram Imperial droid. So that that brings back, you know, shades of another robot from my childhood, played by an unintelligible Austrian. You know, so Terminator two. Yeah. But I also I liked the fact that he's, you know, up more than just the comic relief in the movie. From a droid standpoint, he's actually a main character. So I liked the fact that and he wrecked shit. And, you know, he's, you know, he's kind of got a little bit of a sense of humor and a smart ass, which obviously, they throw in for the comic relief, but I just like him, because he's a he's a droid, but he's actually a character in the movie versus like, see Threepio and RTD. To who were just there to either move the plot along, or, you know, provide a little bit of
they pad the story really hard.
They do. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So that one was actually pretty easy for me.
So the funny thing is that a lot last year's podcast, I said, that was not my favorite joy.
Okay, so has yours changed? Is it now that Parker or have you made modifications?
I've made modifications, okay. Mainly because this year I went through and listen to the audio books for the aftermath series of Star Wars, which is the new stuff that Disney is coming out with. It's an aftermath series takes place after episode six. And for like, like, the six or seven months after Episode Six, where like the Empire has lost its second Deathstar and the Empires crumbling and the rebels are, you know, still trying to you know, because like, that's the thing is what people don't realize, like after the death star blew up in Episode Six, the Empire still exists. They just lost, like, a couple Star Destroyers and a killer moon base. And it's like, you still got like, you know, 1000 Star Destroyers left and yeah, so it's like, so it talks about that downfall. But there's a character in it. One of the main characters, he has a droid that he's built and modified, called Mr. Bones. And he is a be one battle droid, from the clone War era that has been like painted red, and has like, like bones, like, grafted onto them. And he's been reprogrammed with like, lots of different programs. And so he like talks to you or talks to the main characters and stuff, but he basically likes violence and likes killing people. And he's sadistic, like, one of his one of his quotes is, I say, we blast the meat bag and save you the trouble master. And his voice is like, like, you know, like in Clone Wars where like, like Roger, Roger, like he's got that voice but since he's so like, his memory is so corrupted. It's like warbly and like, distorted it's just amazing.
It's like if the Joker made a droid
yeah base basically yeah, like and he like attacks by basically windmilling at people.
Like a six year old little girl.
Yeah, he bases arms just start spinning up. And like he's got like a vibro dagger that pops out of his arm and frickin amazing. That's awesome. Interesting. I might have to read those. They have an audio if you'd like audiobooks. Audible. Do do that because the Star Wars like they do a production level on top of the story. So like they have actors that are voicing all the characters and they have sound effects and yeah, it's awesome. I'll have to check that out. Yeah. So Steven, did you update? I think IG 88 was your favorite Jory
last solid pick IG 88 was was last year's pick. I have made a modification on my favorite droid. And I put a little bit of thought into this one and the what it all boils down to is if you look at the empire in a nutshell, you kind of get you kind of get the feeling that it's like a really really giant bloated bureaucracy. There's there's miles of red tape for For everything that goes on, there's no councils after councils that have to approve XYZ. It's like a giant corporation. And you can see that reflected through their droid design and what they have going on. And there's a particular droid that I think really shows this. When Princess Leia in A New Hope is captured and she's on the Deathstar. And Vader comes to interrogate her. There's a floating black ball that has a syringe on the side of it. And they and in the scene, it actually like focuses on the syringe. And it's like, somebody had to go through like the heartache of designing that giant floating ball to stab someone with a syringe that some Stormtrooper could just do. You know, like, they had a specific robot for this one task. And it's just like, and it kind of goes along with those little like mouse RC cars that go around. Like why like, but and but it's not it's not necessarily why like, it makes sense. If you're a giant bloated bureaucracy, you would need a floating syringe ball like that's just
this is the best thing because I looked it up it's the model number is it Oh, it's interrogation droid, but the best thing is like it's armament classifications. So as an arc emitter, number two unless is bone fragments years. Chemical torture turns
so it's got a stun gun, a billy club.
Drug injector, electro shock nerve probes. This is good flush peelers. What how? Yeah, joint Crippler okay, this is a purpose built droids Sonic torture devices victim analysis photoreceptor
and they still couldn't get something out of Princess Leia. I find that hard to believe.
Yeah. I think it's just the ridiculousness that it needed to be a floating sphere that that did this. Yes. Like,
because it could just be like an RT two d two unit that had all those days,
or any other
thing. Just yeah, just send in some, some Stormtrooper to like rough are up a little bit.
Yeah. You know, well, and the thing is it to my recollection, those droids don't exist anywhere else in any of the movies. That's like one scene that they put a lot of thought into it.
Have you ever seen the Robot Chicken been about that? Droid?
No, I haven't.
Okay. Oh, yeah. Because it's like the doctor.
Yeah, he's forgot what they call it. But it's funny. Go go watch it. It's on YouTube. It's it. I don't I don't remember what they have. What? Like how you would even find it, but I'm sure Robot Chicken droids would probably get you there
pretty well. Yeah, that's pretty much a guarantee. Well, shoot. Okay. So we we have now established our favorite characters, and we've re upped our droids, maybe they'll change next year. Maybe
they won't. Maybe it depends on actually. Yeah, I think the next episode will be out by the time we do this podcast again. In fact,
yeah. The next the next episode will be like, moderately old, I
think by then. No, no, it would just come out.
Is it coming out next Christmas? I thought it was coming out Christmas. Okay. I thought it was in the summer. Okay, well, then we will have our our final analysis more fodder. Yeah. Great.
Well, you want to put a spoiler warning on the next episode?
Oh, yeah. Yeah. It'll be a legitimate spoiler warning. Yeah.
Or maybe we'll read right before it.
Well, we won't have anything new to talk about. That's true.
But it's Star Wars, we always have new stuff to talk about.
That's true. Anyways, on to the topics
I'll take, I'll take the first topic on this one. And so I will get a little bit nerdy here. But something came to mind the other day. And it's the the idea of the MIDI chlorians. And the the idea that was put forth in I guess it was Episode One is where they were introduced. And this thought that MIDI chlorians Are the explanation for the force. And it was like a bacteria. So yeah, well, okay, so and that's what I really want to kind of jump into, because everyone's kind of thought of MIDI chlorians as this, like, living being or part of like your cells, or some of the cells in your bodies have MIDI chlorians. And I wanted to kind of reach another topic here and talk about is the force of force. And what I mean by that is, is the force ie Star Wars The Force, like a force of nature, or is it something biological in a sense? And I started piecing together all like a body diagram
for it. Yeah.
Well, everyone at night route. I've basically heard nothing but complaints about the MIDI chlorian story. So I wanted to try to figure out, Is there a way that I could potentially justify it and make it feel better? No. Well, but hang on, hang on, let's, let's talk about this, maybe I'll change your mind here. Okay, so they know you these, these medical organs were originally described as part of the cellular makeup of the Jedi. So basically like a living organism kind of thing. And in A New Hope, Obi Wan has a phrase that he says, an energy field created by all living beings. And he's describing the force in that. So an energy field created by all living beings. And what I think is really kind of like a key in that sentence is the fact that he says field, because when you say field to an engineer, like that means something, there's like, something behind that. And there's something to sink your teeth into. And so I'll preface this by saying, and our listeners know this very well. I'm not an expert in anything I'm about to say, I am more of a YouTube consumer of knowledge. So I'm gonna go a little bit into some quantum theory and some quantum stuff, but, but follow me on this, okay. So take something like the electromagnetic force, like, you know, you have two charges a positive and a negative charge. They they exert a force upon themselves, right? Well, okay, so let's say you had, let's take an example of two balloons, you have one balloon and you, you put a positive charge on it and one balloon, you have a negative charge, like you know that they experiment where you rub the balloon on your hair, they'll exert a force on each other, and you can watch them move apart from each other. Right? Well, the question is, how do they know that they exist? How does balloon a know that balloon B is there? Right? And how does it exert a force across a distance? That's a that's kind of like a, it's a weird thing to think about. And in quantum mechanics and in quantum physics, like that question has been breached quite a bit. And what it boils down to is subatomic particles that are called bosons, gauge bosons in particular. So gauge bosons are subatomic particles that are called force carriers. Pretty cool little word right there, right? force carriers. And these subatomic particles are emitted by fermions, which fermions are like your, your standard proton, electron, your basic building blocks. But bosons are the actual virtual particle that exerts or extends a force out into I guess you could say the ether. I mean, we're getting a little bit wacko here. But there's right right now we are aware of four different bosons. They are the photon, the W and Z boson, and something called gluons. So we're going way deep here, but but just follow me on this. The photon is the subatomic particle that carries the electromagnetic force or the electromagnetic interaction, all electrical action is basically carried by the photon. So things such as those two balloons that are charged positive and negative, they know that the other balloon exists across the distance, because bosons actually travel that distance, and they interact in his innocence. So subatomic particles from the balloons are actually jumping across from each other and exerting a force on them on each other across the distance. That's the part that kind of gets weird. There's a field and it's sort of, it's sort of incorrect to say the word field because field implies that there's something continuous in in quantum in the quantum world, there's nothing continuous. However, the part that makes it not continuous is the fact that there's actual particles that are emitted and then felt by other particles. So the W and Z bows on carry the weak interaction, which is responsible for things like radioactive decay. And then gluons carry the strong interaction, which is the basically the glue that holds atoms together. So we have photons, W and Z bosons and gluons. I'm going to propose that a MIDI chlorian is a boson. And that jet is a have more of them, and B have the ability to interact with them. So instead of it being a living being Jedi is actually possess subatomic particles that they in a sense can control or can learn to control.
So they're like Magneto, but Basically, is what you're saying?
Well, I think that would be one part of it. And the thing that could be special about the MIDI chlorians is the fact that the MIDI chlorians can interact with any other boson. That's what's, that's what makes them special, like a photon doesn't interact with the glue on. There are different bosons that have different force carriers. But a MIDI chlorian could be a boson that interacts with any of those. It's just a matter of do you train with that? Do you know how to interact with it? And when Qui Gon Jinn goes and scans out Anakin in episode one, and he's like, all your MIDI chlorian counts off the scale, he could just be counting how many bows ons that Anakin is emitting.
It's because Innokin grew up near a power plant or something.
And he drank the water. So yeah, no, I think I think that that is a explanation that I personally feel okay. Like, it kind of like ties it together in a way where it's like, okay, it's not like jet eyes are just filled with a bunch of bugs that do what they want.
No, I'm like that, that theory? Yeah. It's very interesting.
I mean, it's, it sounds believable, but I know, things are bullshit. And screw George Lucas for midichlorians. Well,
so here's here's another thing that I think takes it a little bit further. And I think brings it more into a human realm that I really, really like. Given the given the idea that a MIDI chlorian could be a boson, that gives you a physical thing to grasp. It's like, okay, we have a mechanism through which the force works. But it doesn't explain the religious and spiritual aspect of the jet eyes. That's where the humans come in, because they could have developed that entirely themselves. Humans are pretty good at, at making things religious, you know, it's something you don't you can't explain you kind of like build mystique and lore and legend around it. So there's this actual physical thing that we don't, or even the jet eyes don't understand. But they have this whole way of life that seems to fit very well with the Boson idea. And they combine it all together into this religious and scientific thing.
Well, it probably was, if you were gonna go down this path, it was probably a religion first before they even knew about midichlorians for sure. Oh, absolutely.
So So here's, here's a question, then let's stick with your theory about subatomic particles, and so on. How does that then explain the ability for people to talk to each other get like entire solar systems away from each other?
Quantum Entanglement would do that. Yeah. So exactly. Quantum Entanglement would do that. But at the same time, consider this. Right now. The moon's interaction, its mass is actually pulling on you. But also the sun is actually pulling on you and the Andromeda Galaxy is pulling, every bit of matter in the universe is actually pulling on you, even if it's insignificant, it's still doing it. How does it reach across those distances and actually interact with Roz right now? Well, it's through the boat. The bosons are actually it's their virtual particles. It's, it's ridiculous. But the thing is, like, the the distance across things, doesn't necessarily come into play when we're talking about that. It's, I don't know, it's difficult to explain. But what I think is, adjusting someone's mind at a distance can still be explained through the bows on interacting with, I guess, brain matter at a distance, right? It's still something that if you have that control, you can alter someone's mind by physically altering the makeup of what their brain is having. Is that that moment? Yeah, we see
that, you know, an episode for where, like, you know, Jedi can influence the minds of the week. And, I mean, that makes sense that, that you could probably expand that concept to include, you know, talking to someone across the galaxy than if that
right so within within, like, light side and dark side be different sub pop subatomic particles that people who are like I need to be able to, like, you have the ability to manipulate these types of subatomic particles because you're more familiar with them because you're an evil fuck, or, you know, the light side ones are more likely I you know, I don't know.
So I think the well I think the light side dark side is like the difference between like, Buddhism and in like, Catholics. It's just a different religion. Explain Things.
That's great. The Pope is the Emperor That's so great. That's funny. No, like, okay, so I think I think you could say that the light side dark side is something introduced entirely because of humans. Because humans, or I shouldn't even say humans because Star Wars is multi species. So it's, it's basically based off of sentient beings sentient beings. Yeah, yeah. So sentient beings introduce good and bad. Whereas the the force itself is actually one thing. It's just the way that you approach it. Or the way that a sentient being approaches it makes it good or bad.
So So now that's interesting, because I actually heard a theory. The other day, I was watching, you know, I fell down the deep dark YouTube rabbit hole and ended up somewhere on like, a Star Wars theory pain, whatever. I want to get into it, but uh, basically 12 views? Yeah, no, essentially. But basically, they were saying that neither the Jedi nor the Sith, like both are wrong, because they both went extreme in the other direction. And the force is not dark, or light, the force is the force. And it's these these extreme, you know, views or religions that these these two sects have embraced that, like, have basically caused all the bad shit to happen. Because these, the forces, it's like force is a moral, it doesn't have, like, any good or bad. It's just the force. It just wants balance. Right? So I think that that would kind of jive with your theory there that you're floating by, even though, right it's like are justifying midichlorians. But it's human
freewill. That ends up destroying what is good in the sense or not good, but what is like neutral, like humans are never, we're humans in the Star Wars world never can really ride the line of true neutral, they always have to fall one way or the other.
Well, and so it's interesting, because one of the I think one of the things that the last Jedi, maybe we'll see, I guess once they start wrapping up the the new trilogy. One of the things the last Jedi, I think is trying to get the point across of is, hey, yeah, we all know the Sith is evil, Darth Vader, the emperor, right? And all the legends stuff that's back in the back of all the Sith Lords and, you know, holocrons and all that shit. But essentially, the Jedi are bad too. It's like, almost, we've been, like a perspective thing. You just think the Jedi are the good guys. But in the sense, they're just as, like wrong. I don't I won't say bad, but they're just as wrong as like the SIFT where, because they are focusing on a specific extreme of the force, when the force is like, just this general field, right? There's no morality attached to it. Right? Well, that would make sense
and get this. I love this. In fact, we talked about this last year, it was a it was a prediction that we made. Were ray from Episode Seven and eight, where she is not a Jedi, like capital J Jedi, right? Because she hasn't gone through any of the formal training. In other words, she hasn't gone through the religious doctrine. Yeah, it she's, she's a force at it. She can feel the force, she can involve herself in the forest. But she doesn't know the the backstory, I guess you could say behind Rangers, and they even show other other beings and other people using the force on top of that, and I think it is nice trying to open it up.
So So here's the thing, though. All right. So I have this might surprise you. issues with the array, the way array becomes able to use the Force. I think. I think the prototype for your the force adept is from Rogue One, the guidance the chariot, the Blind Monk, right. Yeah. Oh, for sure that, that that's a guy. So the fact that rageous wakes up one day and is able to essentially kick the crap out of Luke Skywalker, who George Lucas himself said, is the most powerful Jedi that's ever existed. Just because she wants to, I still think the force requires like this focus and practice and regardless of the the religious aspect of whatever the Jedi brought to it, right? Or the Sith, I still think it takes training and focus and like you just meditation, right? You can't just be one with a horse. Like you have to learn how to be one with the Force.
Well, let me let me counter that with something actually. So get this. What if What if the intense meditation and study of the Jedi religion actually holds people back. What if that's something where they're actually hindered from actually using the power? Because they're so intent on a specific method of doing it?
No, it's so I completely agree with you, which is why I kind of go back to that character in Rogue One, cheer it right. And the reason I pick him as an example, is because he's, he resembles a Jedi in no way shape or form, right? He, he doesn't stand on his head and pick up rocks or shoot lightning out of his fingers. He doesn't wield a lightsaber, but he's clearly a Force user. So this is somebody that you know, has become familiar with the force trained to use the force he believes. And yeah, he's one with the force and the forces with him. And like he's shooting down Thai fighters like crossbows and dodging bullets and stuff. Things that are clearly force but not like anything you've seen in any of the movies. The problem I have with Ray is it's like, she's a Jedi, but she's just a super Jedi, right? And like, Oh, I've never touched a lightsaber before. I'm gonna kick the shit out of a Sith Lord, who has been training with a lightsaber since he was an adult.
It's very convenient.
Yeah, and if we're talking specifically, like, if you want to make her a Force user and a force, adapt, do it, that's awesome. But don't. To your point, the things that she suddenly becomes good at? Are those very things that are the Jedi religion, you know, the lightsaber use and the mind. How did she even know mind control freaking existed in the first movie, and yet she's talking stormtroopers into letting her out of her bonds like, how would you even know that existed but she just decided she must have watched the first three movies as
well and to your point. Okay, so in, in Episode Five, Luke goes to Daigo BA. And he's training with Yoda. And he's having trouble you know, stacking three or four rocks on top of themselves the same general amount of Jedi Enos that Ray has in episode eight she moved like half a mountain without even trying and I'll admit that's super super convenient. She She lifts like a couple tons of rocks to open up a path for everyone and she does it effortlessly. That's a little convenient.
Right so yeah, not to get off on like a like a super tangent about away from your your subatomic particle theory here. I think it makes sense. I'm,
I like it a lot.
I'm still bothered that you're justifying the MIDI chlorians. But I when you put it to me that way, like maybe Star Wars maybe Lucas should have like reached out to you before they like floated that bull crap in the in the in the prequels because the way you put it that way, okay, I can buy it. It makes more sense. It's like Magneto being able to like, you know, manipulate iron metallic particles. Right,
right. Exactly. Exactly. Well, and my theory came about because I just wanted to justify MIDI chlorians Because they exist. I wouldn't have this theory if MIDI chlorians didn't suck. But I like my like, I like the way you redeemed MIDI chlorians Ah, great. I've saved one person.
Jesus, I never thought I would say that my life.
Well, round of applause to you, Steven.
Alright, Parker. Let's let's roll on to some of the topics that you've prepared.
hyperspace Rameen that we saw. So the last Jedi I think is like one of the worst. It is the worst hours.
I will disagree with you. I like it.
It is the worst. I'm with parks on this one it is the worst. So it is
the worst created mainly mainly because it breaks so many rules that we known to have existed in Star Wars. And one of them was hyperspace ramming so at the very end of the movie, the purple haired lady turns
she flies through and
turns the ship around and they effort to save the rest of her crew hyperspeed rams the the Mon Calamari ship hope one into once us Nokes, main flagship. It's I can't remember. I can't remember the name of that. Ormus it's enormous. Both of these ships are enormous though.
Like there's no no ship is probably bigger than the Emperor's like super destroyer Star Destroyer.
Oh yeah, definitely. And so the thing I have with this is it's clearly hyperspace for him. It was a very effective at this thing. And so it's like why is this not a thing in previous installments? And like you could hyperspace sniping like bases and Star Destroyers and like the dust star you could like send one ship and just like with no one on it and just yeah hyperspace
just put up put a hyperdrive on a cruise missile and like pointed at you're like enemies home planet and hit the go button right hit the go button.
And so yeah, like you could, like hyperspace Raymond would basically make like capital ships entirely obsolete. It's kind of like how we've made battleships on the ocean and Navy's completely obsolete with aircraft carriers and cruise missiles. Because they're just too big and too slow. So it's, yeah, so you have these, this idea that they, they put into this movie of hyperspace ramming
and well, okay, so the scene that it happens is really spectacular. In terms of like, it's really flashy, and it's really cool.
It's amazingly shot. I'm not gonna argue the
cinematics are pretty badass. I mean, yeah, it's
really cool. Yeah,
it's really great. It's just like, but like the Empire builds ginormous super weapons. Were like an X Wing fighter that has a hyperdrive could just ram it and blow it up.
Right. So okay, so I have a I'm disclaimer here. I got like a, I think like a C in college physics. I am not a physicist. I don't know, I'm about to go off on the reservation here on to something I have no authority to talk about. But my quick google fingers, you know, equals MC squared, right? As an object approaches the speed of light, it its mass becomes infinite, more or less. Right. So couldn't you blow up a star destroyer with a paperclip? As long as it was moving the speed of light? More or less? Well,
no. Okay. So actually, that what that what that equation says is to move mass at the speed of light, you need infinite energy,
infinite energy. Yeah,
it doesn't it doesn't. It kind of doesn't go the other way.
Well, it's just like that E equals MC squared is just an equation that just relates how energy is related to mass. So when you convert master energy and energy to mass, that's the equation for it.
Right? But doesn't essentially mean that, you know, converting energy to mass. There's some there's some level at some point along that equation. Of in infinite measure, right?
Yeah. Well, the thing is, though, in Star Wars like, even with with faster than light stuff, like hyperdrives Yeah, they've clearly defeated
physics doesn't exist the same way in that universe as it does in ours.
Yeah. Well, they were they figured out even if it works the same, they figured out a some technology to get around the fact that the closer you get to the speed of light, the heavier your ship gets based.
Okay, fair enough. So all right, well, then we'll put that in that bucket. Forget what I said about Einstein and all that shit.
But that's good. I think I think basically, they explain hype. hyperspace is like an alternate dimension. But that dimension still interacts with this dimension. That's how they, they do it. Because like, there's that whole thing in episode four, where they're, they have to calculate like consoles got to calculate the hyperspace jump. So they don't really go
through in our star and Astro eight or something like you said, right?
Right. So so when you go through hype, if that's the case, then when you're going in faster than light speed, you're not you're not leaving this dimension, you are actually traveling from one point to another, and you're traveling through space to that point, yes, accordingly.
But hyperspace is in if you look it up on like Wilkie PD or whatever it how how it's explained it is a alternate dimension, but you're still in this dimension, you kind of being carried in this other dimension. It's kind of weird. So people who defend this movie basically say only capital ships would have enough mass and large enough hyperdrives to make this like a thing. So you would you wouldn't do it though, because your capital ships are very expensive.
Right? Oh, wait, Parker's got some calculations. I'm
calling bullshit on that. How so? What? Well, cuz, okay, just all right.
No, no, no, this is what people who defend the hyperspace ramming in episode eight say,
right. Okay. Well, so my question is, why does it need to be defended? Like it's perfectly viable?
Well, okay, if it's perfectly viable, then why wouldn't they use it all the time?
All the time? That's a good question. And so the reason why people don't use it all the time. I'm is because some people speculate that maybe capital ships like the hope one would have enough mass and enough hyperdrive capability to make it work. The thing is, though, I did some quick math on an X Wing, and the estimate weight of an X Wing is like 5500 kilograms. And that's based off like an F 15 fighter jet. look about the same size. And so let's just assume Lightspeed, not even faster than light. So it's just going it's going real fast. So it's going really fast. It's going, was it 299 million meters per second? I think that's 310.
Three times 10 to the eighth. Something like that. Yeah, that would be Yeah, yeah. Yeah.
Okay. So just kinetic energy. So one half mv squared. For this X Wing, if it's going just the speed of light is 247 quintillion joules, right, which is, I have the number there. Yeah, it's got 1234566 commas.
Six, it's got a lot of six,
three zeros. There's a ton of energy. It sounds like an x mean, would have plenty enough power or enough energy if it was going Lightspeed and slammed into something. So you could basically you would take your X Wing and, you know, wind it up with the exhaust port on the Deathstar and just shoot right at it. I mean, you start basically, this whole hyperspace ramming thing they introduced in episode eight, starts punching holes in like everything that has previously happened in Star Wars.
Like everything else that movie did. Yes,
well, okay. Okay, actually. So, follow me on this. Okay. Wait, wait, wait, wait, maybe I can punch a hole in this. Let me? Okay. If so, E is equal to mc still applies. Let's, let's consider that. Maybe, maybe the speed of light is still unobtainable in the Star Wars universe. But faster than the speed of light is only obtainable because you're jumping dimensions, where is equal to mc squared doesn't apply in that other dimension. So in order to use something as like a ramming weapon, it would have to be enormous in order for it to work doing it that way. You get where I'm going with it.
So you'd have to convert the ship into energy basically, is what you're saying? Yes, exactly.
So it's probably in the Star Wars universe, it's probably still impossible to get to accelerate something to the speed of light in in the XYZ Time, space frame.
Okay, well, so hold up. Let's just go with I'm just thinking through like business major physics here, not not science physics that you guys are going through. You don't even
have to get it to the speed of light. Right? You can just get really close. You could even you even have like half the speed of light. I just did the math on Okay, so Tsar Bomba was the largest nuclear device ever detonated on Earth, right. And I think the the yield was something ridiculous like 50 megatons or something where we just
stood, and it was supposed to be 100 megatons.
100 megatons. So I just went to Google and I said 100 megatons of TNT. What is that in joules? And it's 4.184 times 10 to the 17th power. Which is, I think, and I don't have paper in front of me, and I'm not smart enough to do it in my brain. I think that's even less than what Parker calculated for Justin his X Wing, right?
Yeah, it's actually four. I think it's four orders of magnitude less.
So you're talking about enough energy with just an X Wing? Forget blowing up just a capital ship. You're talking about destroying continents at this point,
I'll go like straight through the Deathstar. Send one 2x wing can go straight through it.
Actually, that's the thing though, is the problem with hyperspace ramming This is actually a benefit I guess. Or a constellation to like, this theory is like gravity wells cast hyperspace shadows and so you can't use it to ram a planet. Because you would just come you when you got close enough to it, you'd come out of hyperspace got it? So you so basically the gravity well has to be small enough so you could do this so is like the Death Star
doesn't have no gravity. I don't buy that though. Because in so many movies you have shots of a planet with a ship boom, zoom in right in like almost in the atmosphere pretty much in orbit.
That's true. Yeah, yeah, they
Oh, they do it in row one row one they do it where they get
the the rebel fleet comes out of hyperspace and boom, right? They're They're scared but
then But then the Yeah, that happens. But then like the Star Destroyer show up, like right on top of them. Yeah, yep. Yep. So maybe you can do it to a point like you can't Like, do the the Battlestar Galactica jump into the atmosphere and then shoot all the fighters out and then jump back out? Y'all seen that? Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's like my favorite like scene in desert Galactica. So you probably can't do that because you're too close to the planet. And Star Wars but, you know, there's got to be a limit to to this because we know that gravity wells pull stuff out of hyperspace because the the Empire has those ships are called they start with an AI
Interdictors we actually wouldn't know but but wait, hang
on pole shut that up. I
don't know if it is in Empire Strikes Back. The very beginning of it Vader kills one of his I don't know, commanders, generals, whatever. Because he says they came out of hyperspace too close to the planet.
Yeah, indictor class is what it is indictor qlustar. Destroyers have big gravity wells that they can just suck ships out of hyperdrive. I have I've weighed
but Steve, didn't he say that? Because they were trying to keep the elements surprise, an empire?
I don't know. Was it? Was it the element of surprise? Or did the guy screw and actually like lose a fleet? That's a good question. And at the same time in A New Hope, when when you know the the crew is first, leaving tattooing, there's that Star Destroyer that basically follows them. And it takes them some time to jump into hyperspace is that because they're too close to death to wean, and they had to get further away. It's
both they're calculating their jump and they have to get away from the Gravity Well,
so here's a question for
you then. Let's go back to let's go back to last Jedi in purple haired, you know, super pilot? What? What if that ship is just still accelerating to get to hyperspace. It doesn't just instantly jump to hyperspace it has to, you know, somewhere right in? Yeah, you gotta you gotta get the extra hyper acceleration
is rich.
Yeah. Yeah. Can I kind of put you? Well, first off, if you're standing still and your ship accelerates up to lightspeed? Wouldn't you basically go through the back wall of said ship? I don't know,
become a greasy red paste on the
wall. You're a fine red mist getting shut out the back of the ship. But,
you know, it's funny, I think Einstein actually had some, some thought experiments about, like, generally this exact same thing. Like, like the, like, one of his famous ones was, you're in a train car. Like think of a boxcar that's empty. You can't see the outside. It's entirely in case and think of this train car as frictionless. Entirely frictionless but it's sitting still on a on a train track. You're inside this car and you have a flashlight. If you turn the flashlight on, then light will leave your flashlight, go through the train car and eventually hit the other wall on the on the train car, right? Well, light actually has maths. I mean, there's there's maths to it. So when you turn on that flashlight, like the train car technically would move somewhat because you've emitted light. But once once the light hits the wall on the other side of the train card, then the train stops moving. So
it will Yeah. In like the theory behind the M drive that we can't figure out how it works.
But yeah, basically yeah.
Like, I mean, it's visible light versus like microwaves, I think in the end drive but still seem more or less comprehensible? Yeah, some
somehow that thing is purported to produce a higher force or a net positive force in one direction, which means something moves which is crazy. Yeah, you just jam am radio and somehow you start moving.
In depending on what channel you turn it to you go faster or slower.
Or talk radio.
And the other other thing people say that, why, why this isn't more commonly used is that hyperdrives are very expensive, right?
I mean, they're expensive, but they're not like cost prohibitive, because there's entire fleets of ships that have
in fact, in fact, every rebel ship has it every single level ship
so an X Wing has this thing that was like when they attacked the Deathstar. If they only used 1x wing to take it out with hyperdrive, they lost one and said they tried to shoot proton torpedo into it. And they lost like their entire fleet of like 30x wings and like 15 y wings, they lost every almost everything besides like three ships. And it's like okay, so it doesn't make it so it's, it's it would be less expensive than at that point instead of having to sacrifice all your ships to do it with conventional weaponry. or you could just sent a X Wing going barreling at it, you know, do you want to 99 million meters second pattern? Well, okay, well,
the reason nobody's ever done it is because like, if, if you did do it, it caused some like black hole that swallowed the universe or something or like summon this, like Satan. Cthulhu.
Yeah, through Luke.
So here's the here's the thing, back to the whole empire bureaucracy thing. Obviously, the Empire did some kind of cost benefit analysis on it. And they figured that Thai fighters did not need a hyperdrive, because they do not, they don't have to even have deflector shields. Well, that's true. I guess they tried deserve it. They just throw as many as they can. At salutely. It's, it's the Sherman tank of space fighters. You're right. It just killed as many as you can.
Hey, we don't need we don't care if they're better than the Tiger tank, we got 40,000 of them just marched them out. I
mean, if you if you shoot 40,000 rounds at a Tiger tank, it'll eventually blow up, right.
I don't like the hyperspace ramming in episode eight at all. There's some holes. So there's some
way so if that's the biggest hole from that movie that we have a problem with?
It's the biggest it's no, no, no, it's the I think it's the largest hole on a tech standpoint. Yeah. In that movie. Sure. I mean, we can go down the rabbit hole, like just how bad it's written when the plot and
we certainly can, but there's, there's probably a dozen other podcasts like released this week that do the same thing. But the so we'll just put that in the same bucket as how do people not spontaneously combust as soon as they turn on a lightsaber? And you know, all the other things that don't work in physics when it comes to Star Wars. Just hold it, they're all sitting in that nice bucket of Okay.
Okay. And the next one I want to talk about is the 12 parsecs because this is with solo the Kessel run me the Kessel Run. And this is solos famous line that shows Lucas has no idea what are you trying to do Yeah, solos line from the new hope is, in regards to the Millennium Falcon is it made the Kessel run in less than 12 parsecs. Which sounds impressive until you look up what a parsec is. And it's a distance of it's a measurement of distance instead of time. So it's like that doesn't make any sense, right? Until the solo movie, and they actually kind of explain great, but without telling you, which is actually really well done. Like don't go. They don't say 12 parsecs or whatever, or explain it at all. They just like show how he it's basically a shortcut. They the normal run, you have to run through a normal path that takes x distance, and he did it shorter. The thing is, though, that's, that's more of a piloting gloat, but he's gloating about the Millennium Falcon and how fast it is and how fast it is. Which doesn't make any sense then, because any ship could take that shortcut. But but maybe not. But maybe not. Yes, exactly. Because if the Falcon is, quote, the fastest ship in the galaxy according to Han Solo, then it could fly closer to black holes, thus making the trip shorter.
Right, right. That's the part where the maybe not comes in. Because you might be able to actually accomplish that shortcut. In fact, people might have been well aware of that shortcut and been like, well, we could do the Kessel run in 12 parsecs. But nope, there's a black hole.
Well, but that's the way that's the way the solo movie basically explained it is that like, you got to stay in the lane here. If you go into that Shmoo floating off in space. Nobody's ever come out of it. More or less, they kind of, they don't really explain what that schmutz floating around is. But they pretty much the way you just put it Steve is how they put it. But still, it's still it's weird for Han Solo to boast. Like that would be like, Yeah, well, it's, it's, it'd be like when it's the only sports car to make the drive from New York to LA in less than 100 miles. Like if you said that to somebody, they'd be like, What the fuck are you talking? Because
it's cuz it's not about a speed thing. Right? Because Because in that movie, like, they're stuck in one spot, like slowly going away from the Maelstrom, that storm that's there. And so it's like, it's clearly not faster.
Well, okay, so an analogy that I mean, maybe this is a crappy analogy or something like that. But like, think of a game that you'd play maybe when you were a kid where it's like, Okay, we have, I don't know, like pick 20 feet or 50 feet or something like that. And you have to count how many times you can jump in 50 feet you have to do Come forward. And like one guy is like, well, I jumped 100 times in 50 feet and other guys like, well, I jumped 1000 times in 50 feet. It's akin to that, you know, like you've done something within a certain distance, not within, like, it could take you a week to jump 1000 times in 50 feet, who cares how long it took. It's more about how far you went to accomplish that.
So the thing is, though, is you'd have to know, like, because he's boasting to Luke Skywalker, who has never been off tattooing, right, and has no idea what the fuck the Kessel Run is.
Our Castle is much less likely there's or what the Kessel Run is.
Because like, because it's clear that Luke Skywalker doesn't even know what like how a hyperdrive work actually, we
let's let's acknowledge there in the ship. Yeah, he's
he's like, just punch it, man. He's like, no, no, I
can't do that. But But no, but here's the thing that but what's so great about that? What's the only thing that Luke has really done? He shot rats in a desert it from hit from his like, yeah, slow flying little ship. Like that
is the the equivalent of like, an F 18. And like a good luck, buddy.
Right? Well, hey, you know, the force. You know, it does stuff too. Yeah.
Yeah. But But at that point. Has he really done anything with the force at that point?
No, not really. I mean, he he trained against that remote Droid and that's about it. Yeah.
One thing so Wait, wait, wait. We argue about Ray and Luke had done ze
n n n n n n n n n n No, no. Don't you dare. Because Luke's been piloting since he was a kid. And that's what his boast was all about. It wasn't about shooting rats. It was about piloting. So if we go back to our force adept conversation about the the Blind Monk, and the fact that he's learned how to use the force, maybe it's not through like the proper Jedi way. We're not seeing that right. Okay. Look, if Ray kit Kylo RINs asked with her little stick. Because of the force. I would buy it all day long. I'd be like, Okay, that's great. I'll take it. But Ray picked up a lightsaber without ever having used a bucket. She's never even turned one on and kicked a trained Sith Lord who has been training mind you he's a Force user also, but has been training since he was a kid and walk them up one side and down the other. That's what I have a problem with. Sorry, rant. Oh,
that's fair. That's totally fair. In every way that isn't fair argue.
So let's let's think about what happened. Okay. Luke Skywalker actually turned on a lightsaber practice with it had a few lessons with Obi Wan on the Millennium Falcon, assume idli trained with the with Yoda on Daggubati. Hopefully,
he also has training on the million Falcon is he was learning how to fuel the force, right? And how to not even manipulate but just how to experience like, how do you interact with it? Which is that's all he does. In the first movie. He's just interacting,
right? Because he'd never actually uses a lightsaber for anything destructive in Episode Four.
He doesn't Yeah, he the only time he ever really holds it and turns it on. Was that scene on the Millennium Falcon? If I'm not well,
the first time he turns it on is in Obi Wan
Kenobi one's hot, right? Yeah. So let's remember the first time Luke turned on us a lightsaber to go have a fight. What happened? He was asked, kicked, he got his arm cut off. And it's true. He did. And Darth Vader was toying with him because he was trying to convert them to the dark side. Like you get the sense that it any moment Darth Vader could have just killed him.
Oh, he could have oh, yeah, like it was a bug. Yeah, for sure. And that builds character that much more.
Exactly. So I don't even know what we were talking about. You just you just you just flipped flip parts. Okay, parsecs. Yeah, sorry. Back to parsecs.
So, yeah. I mean, basically, they redeemed Lucas's flub in solo.
But so Okay. As you were explaining this, I had that thought though. There are so many Lucas flubs throughout the entire series that have had to be justified. Yeah, like Wow, so many. I mean, even something as basic as, hey, up until like, the second movie Empire Strikes Back, Luke and Leia were supposed to be like, you know, love people like I don't know in a relationship. Some other point.
You mean Star Wars is not a story about incest.
Well, it was supposed to be apparently. But apparently you can just change your mind about major plot points all like up until the last movie in this series.
Hey, hey, I have to admit I will. I will. You know golf clap for Disney. For keeping the layup and solo thing together like that's something they pulled from from the post movie story stuff that I'm glad they did that way and explain what you lay on Han get together
actually getting married and having Yeah,
yeah and actually having kids like that's they screwed up they
screwed up you know in because in the legends they were supposed to have kids that ended up they were supposed to be twins and actually there so have you guys heard about and maybe we're maybe I'm skipping ahead here I don't know but episode nine signed on Keri Russell as she's not credited so nobody knows who she is gonna play. But Are you guys familiar with Carrie Russell? You know who she is? So have you ever seen the show the Americans it's on FX Russian spy? Yeah. So she's the female lead in that in that show? Awesome show if you've never seen it, go watch it. But there's there's all kinds of like fan theories floating around and one of the theories is that she's like Kylo Ren like twin sister or when Another theory is that she's like Mara Jade,
no agenda not gonna pull that out.
Don't even get me started like anyways, but
Well, the good thing is is going back to the Stevens Point is in the aftermath, the book series, les is like pregnant. Yeah, so yeah, it's so like one of the books I think it's like the second book or is it third book came in was Solo has like this conundrum. Like, he's a smuggler in a scoundrel and a daddy and and now he's got to be a dad. And he's just has this moral conflict, which I read. I watched oil I guess, listen, listen to those books. Before I stole solo. And that's also what I appreciated, like solos origin story, way more after finding out like, you know what happens after episode six.
So So Okay, can we pause there for a second because there's something that I'm confused about when it comes to solo and maybe the fact that you've read this series might explain it a little bit more. Maybe not because the timeline is after the movies, but But alright, so remember, when solos in the I guess the spaceport and his girlfriend just got locked behind the TSA check.
Got his new last name? Yes. Yeah.
So there's walking around in that spaceport are a bunch of Storm Troopers. Right? Yeah. Storm Troopers in standard Stormtrooper armor. You see the Imperial officer in his Imperial uniform. So right away, you're like, alright, this is Imperial timeframe. And then, fast forward to the end of the movie Solo's girlfriend and this is years later, by the way, gets on the you know, space Skype and starts talking to who? Darth Frick and Maul. So either Darth Maul didn't die when I which According to legends, which we don't know. But he like he stapled is two halves back together something and came back.
It's actually more badass than that though. He's actually part robot. Yeah, he's got like spider legs, I
think. Yep. Yeah, yeah. But the point is, is like either George Lucas. Or sorry, Disney screwed the timeline up royally. And those should be like clone troopers because stormtroopers didn't exist until the Empire era. Or Darth Maul, like is still alive, in which case? Like, why don't we just see why didn't he show up? He's still working for Palpatine at that point,
no, no, he's he runs the black suns, which is a like a, again, a space game. And so he's in hiding because you gotta remember Palpatine The Emperor is still alive in the can only be a master the ruler to the rural too. And so he's actually still alive. And so he's in hiding, because the emperor would just come out and just like, kill him.
Right? At what so he's just moving on from the whole Sith Lord thing is, you know, it was a phase.
Probably. Yeah, he grew out of it.
Well, okay. So also, there's, there's kind of, there's three revisions to the standard issue Stormtrooper plastic armor. There's, there's the prequels, the three prequels, then there's four or five and six, and then there's the seven, eight, and supposedly nine. I would think that what the timeframe that you're talking about probably straddles right when they introduced the new Stormtrooper armor before for Yeah, probably.
Yeah. Yeah, it's right about that timeframe. Either way. Either way. Mall died before the clone army was even made. That's True.
Well died in quotation marks.
True. So. So the only way that that timeline works is if he's still alive. Like Parker so
yeah, he's still alive. He would be because Darth Maul is probably like, in his. He looks like he's in his 20s If you can put an age on a zap in a mall, yeah. On a mall. And so he'd be probably around. Oh, that would be because Anakin is like in his teens, late teens, like, like 1920 When he turns into Vader, and so that would be 10 more years and then, probably 10 more years after that. So he'd be like, 4050
Yeah. And of course, he's an alien species. So you know, he might not age.
This might be a midlife crisis for him. You never know.
Yeah, yeah. Sorry. Yeah. Disregard the conversation there. No,
no, the fact that was that he like turns on his lightsaber. Like intimidate. It's like so great. It's like yes, we know your Darth Maul. And we got it. You just
carrying that thing around? Just like,
yeah, Darth Maul is like the equivalent of somebody who has faced tattoos. You know, like, yes. Like, yes, like that doesn't define you. But it's also something that like, love you got, um, like, someone's gonna look at him. You know, that kind of thing.
I let you were gonna say he's like the equivalent of like, Uncle Rico like always living in the past back in his high school days. Starts
balls throwing glories.
I could throw this lightsaber over that.
I was I was a Sith Lord once. Did you know that? Yes, small. We know that. You've only told us that like three times this.
I took the Sith Lords to state.
Yeah, get your ass kicked by some dude with a side ponytail. That's
alright, so troll parsecs been redeemed. Mila coins have been redeemed. And hyperspace ramming still sucks. Yeah,
yeah, I think that's fair. I'm on board with all three of those.
Yeah, so Okay, let's let's move on into the RFO where we can kind of wrap everything up. So I think I think we'll probably end up doing this every year just because it's fun. Let's look at the predictions that we made last year for episode eight. And and let's see what we got right and what we got wrong.
So Steven said that Luke would die in episode eight and check we're checkmark there.
Well, and I'm gonna I'm gonna put a question mark on the end of that, like, it wasn't necessarily confirmed. But we'll see if he comes back as it goes, Man. Which by the way, we didn't. We didn't discuss those people in my medical Orian thing earlier because my theory, my theory. My theory can't it doesn't work for that. I avoided that topic and particularly because
oh, man, now we have to redo the podcast.
Okay, I never said that. I did not say that. We're in too deep here. Okay. So and then. Parker, you made the the prediction that Ray is a Jedi without training.
Okay. Yeah. Well, no, she wasn't going to be a Jedi.
Oh, yeah. Didn't like wasn't going to become one. Yeah, she's.
Yeah. And I was wrong, because it's called The
Last Jedi. So well, okay. Let's be honest. All she has is a bunch of like, training manuals now.
Yeah, so the thing is partially correct. Because actually, if we go by Stephens, or the ideas that we came up with, during this podcast, were Jedi and Sith are just different religions for the force. She's not a Jedi, then. She's just a Force user.
Yeah, no more than like owning a medical manual makes you a doctor.
That's true. That's a really good way of putting it. Yeah. We don't know. Not only that, okay. It's like she has a medical manual and a Bible like those. And they both like reference each other somehow.
Right? Yeah. And then our kind of like, group idea was like Ray would change your name to Neo and dad. Yeah. So, because Oh, yeah, that's right. Because the joke in the, in the the joke that we had was like, at the end of Episode Seven, she would like just download How to Be a Jedi and how to use the force and then you can just use it. So it was like, right.
Yeah, wouldn't surprise me.
Darth Maul is Keanu Reeves. And he's just like, whoa,
whoa. What if I told you
that All right, let's move into predictions for episode nine.
So my prediction is we're going to see a CGI Carrie Fisher confirmed because they killed the wrong character in Episode, The Universe
handed Rian Johnson a solution to a monumental problem on a silver effing platter. And what did he do? He did Mary Poppins Force flying Carrie Fisher back after she got blown up, like just kill her there dude. That's you, the universe just the stars aligned ended. But yeah, and she's coming back. Let's
be frank that Carrie Fisher's. Okay, let's say that they did kill her that way. That would have been a better death than the way that Han Solo died in seven.
Right? And given a shot by a lightsaber,
it would have had more continuity to Kylo Ren kills both his parents like make sense. Yeah,
yeah. It would have been great. Yeah. Although, although in episode eight, he wasn't the one who pulled the trigger that that blew up the ship. Right. He hesitated.
I have a feeling that that was like, edited to look that way. Like it probably maybe in the original, I don't know, there might be
in the original cut. He just flew like right at it and killed it.
Just like boom, hit the button. That thing is in episode eight when that happened. I was like, at that point. And when I was watching the movie, I'm like, Okay, this is very interesting how it's going because like before that you see like the bomber scene and stuff. And I don't really have a problem with that. That scene looks really cool. But she like gets sucked out of the vacuum and like, how like it was shot and how the music was like, I thought that was just it. Like, yeah, that's how she died. And that would have been great. And then she
goes spoonful of sugar on everybody's ass and floats her way back.
I was like, I was like she
had an umbrella that would have
but the thing is when she when she Superman back in, I'm like, I'm done with this movie. And it's last minute like 16 now into the movie. That's where they lost me right there. I was like right there as movie because guess who dies? Our favorite Mon Calamari? Yeah, they did and didn't even give a shit that shit about him.
Not a memorial service. No plaque. No.
Okay, so he should it should have been his head like floating through space he's
like it's our try Yeah,
all right. So one of the one of the things that we actually put for one of the predictions is is Luke actually did I think he I think we're gonna see ghosts Luke. We're gonna see Mark Hamill you know pop up as a old man ghost. That's pretty much a guarantee. Yeah, you're gonna have forced ghost Luke I think but okay. Oh, tau is the prediction. Are we are we going to see are we going to see Yoda? Luke and Anakin pop up in nine.
I think you might even see Obi Wan probably too.
Yeah, probably. Yeah. Okay, actually wait, but here's a good one. Are they going to George Lucas and screw it up? And they're going to have young Luke as a ghost like like when they did and remember when they did in when George Lucas brought back young Anakin or whatnot as a ghost that was awful.
I think that would take more work than just putting Mark Hamels old ass up on the screen.
John Josh, Roz, yo, what what's your prediction?
On Force ghosts
Luke on episode nine No,
just any prediction prediction for episode nine
well, so I think they've dug themselves into a lot of holes with with eight that they're gonna have to figure out how to dig out
see my theory on that is it's going to be it's going to just start as episode eight again. Yeah, like like Luke like Luke opens his eyes and brace Danny behind him
let's pray let's let's pray you're right let's see we can all forget that movie.
A won't happen though. But man if only
Okay, so here's my prediction because I know the way this is going. Ray is the hero she lives through the end of the series and everyone forget what happens to everyone else. Ray walks into the sunset knows perfectly clean and happily ever after kind of scenario because this is the freakin the mouse cult and they're not going to screw up they're their cash cow. And they're you know they're strong female lead man.
She's the millennial
Are you are you good? Yeah. Did much there. Roz?
Yes
Don't Don't even get me started. You want strong female lead. see Rogue One. Nobody gives props to Jenner. So She's stronger than it ever was and didn't have to use magic. Unearned force abilities to do it. Sorry, getting getting assaulted.
Now, I would 100
be an amen on that to gender so was incredible.
So speaking of Rogue One best Star Wars movies. Yeah. I actually think solo is like the best Star Wars movie.
I think rogue was
definitely the best Disney Star Wars movie. Oh, so
I was gonna say I think Rogue One is the best Star Wars movie since the original trilogies.
I think if you could rank them all I'll do the first two personally. Empire Strikes Back and then row one. I think that is that's the first two.
Yeah, yeah, I would agree. Well, I'd be empires and then solo.
So there's there's a lot of things I liked about solo and going as far as Rogue One is concerned. It's not a perfect movie by any means. There's there's some questions that it raises obviously, nothing on the level of like The Last Jedi though, but I would put the last Jedi at the very bottom of the list. The absolute bottom. Where's the prequels? Worse? It's the worst Star Wars movie ever made. Solo I think was was entertaining. It was good. I don't know. Like, I'll go back to my original discussion around the whole Boba Fett thing. I don't really know need to know how Han Solo got to the point where like, that was part of the mystery of Han Solo and why he was such an attractive character. I do like I love the way that they made Chewbacca. Like an actual he wasn't just a sidekick necessarily in that movie.
Now, this is the only the only issue I have with solo is. Why does Han know how to speak. Chewbacca? Chewbacca? Yeah. Yeah. What
is it Kashi?
Kashi kiss the planet?
Yeah, it's Oh, so
I'm looking it up right now.
Yeah. So like, what? That's the only thing that like shrew tree work.
That's yeah, we both found
that thing is like, they don't explain that at all. He just knows how to speak it. And I know I'm sure
I thought he made some comment about like, oh, no, it's right when he's like Chewbacca is about to drown him in the mud. He goes like yeah, I speak a little or something. And that's about the all the explanation you get.
Yeah. And it's just like, that frustrates me because the rest of this movie is everything that happens happens for a reason. And is explainable, like, no one does stupid things. Just advance the plot. Like in Rogue One
will hold up. You're gonna you're gonna fire shots like that. You have to you have to defend.
Oh, on Rogue One. Yeah. Oh, the whole like, like, not sending in like the the ships and stuff like that right away. And like the
I, I agree with you, I think that the whole Hey, we're gonna go attack this giant Imperial installation, and come up with a plan and the Uber ride on the way over is a little iffy. Yes, that's like that's like, Oh, we're gonna go we're gonna go break into Fort Knox. And we'll figure it out.
On the way Yeah, it's different from an episode seven, where Han Solo has a similar comments. Were like, oh, yeah, we'll just like fly in. And because they've done that before and made it work. Apparently, it worked. And it worked. Well, they've done it before, like Han Solo and crew has done that before and it's worked. And so when he makes that as a joke, you buy it. Whereas in this case it you don't know the character characters haven't proven that at all. And,
you know, I actually let me bring up one quick slight tangent that goes into technology. So so the one of the first times we see Han Solo do exactly what you're talking about, is when they get trapped on the Deathstar in A New Hope. And what do they have to do? They have to turn off the tractor beam and what do you have to do to turn a tractor beam off you have to go on like the most possible dangerous like catwalk and like solve a Rubik's cube to to turn off a tractor beam
the best thing is the Empire does not believe in railings like costume Oh yeah,
no, no OSHA does not exist in in Star Wars. No, not at all stars.
Yeah. Well,
the thing is like railings Oh yeah, if we don't build railings, that's the thing is that stars like think about how much of Raylene would like add to the weight and cost to the Deathstar.
Yeah, once again, someone did a cost analysis of life versus railings and they're like, well, they're clones. So, you know, like railing is no expenses.
You got to see is the person falls off you got to pay Their family in the lawsuit and all that's
done and clearly the Empire is self insured otherwise you don't you're not able to make decisions like you couldn't get an insurance policy without railings
you're actually probably right the party itself should guarantee pretty much it's a I was gonna try to make a joke about like the emperor is like the insurer or something I've lost train of thought on that one. Emperor insurance Inc.
Called the Empire one 800 I don't know 800 darks
Oh, that's that's a Robot Chicken sketch.
Have you guys seen? Have you guys seen all the like old Soviet propaganda posters that are redesigned with the Emperor empire? Oh, yes. Absolutely amazing. Like, you know, like the line art stuff where it's like, you know, Vader being Yeah, I want you to join the Empire. So great. Wait,
I think you said that to me. Yeah, I need to get some of those posts. Oh, yeah. That's a basement like man cave material. Oh,
for sure. Yeah. Do your part. Soldier. You know, that kind of stuff.
Yeah. So long story short, I liked solo. To me, it was like a It was exactly what it was. It was like an entertainment spin off, right? Yeah. Good movie. Could I have done without it? Yeah, yeah. But Rogue One
would have been the same thing.
They they weave rug one into the primary storyline of true
star and it solves some issues with Star Wars. In fact, it solves some of the biggest issues with Star Wars, ie the trash port in the in the Deathstar. Like it solves that. That's a huge issue.
It was intentional. Yeah. No. There's the there's skins about it about how stupid Yeah.
Oh, and skits about how stupid it is that they did it a second time.
Right? Yeah. Yeah.
Well, the thing, the reason why I put solo above Rogue One is Rogue One, the first third of that movies kind of slow. It is. And it pays off in the end. But like solo is just so consistent in its delivery of its jokes, the storyline how it's set up. And yeah,
it was a little too slapstick for me like it little to kind of like, good thing is the comedy part.
Well, the thing is Han Solo and Chewie were always that kind of comic relief. Yeah. And the original four, five and six.
Yeah, so I know that some people had like serious issues with the actor they got to play on so I didn't he was great on with him.
I thought it was he Yeah, he's not
Harrison Ford. If you're looking for somebody who's Harrison Ford quality, he's Indiana frickin Jones he's on so you're never going to replace that.
But the thing is, though, is he didn't try to imitate Harrison Ford's acting style are but it was just he got the he got a a legit smirk. And his swagger when he walked was like, sold the character but
but but you could but the thing that they did well is you could see that Han Solo, the one that we all know and love evolved out of that character. They did a good job of making that. And one thing that I really loved that they did is the first time that he goes in plays cards with Lando. You you the whole time you're thinking you're like oh, this is where he gets the ship. And he gets it he Yeah, and that was so great. That was fantastic.
Oh yeah, that was good. I saw the Lando character too. I I more or less like how they spun him. I liked it a lot. I was okay with the whole Lando character. It was pretty cool. How they you know, made his like it was like the window like Billy Dee Williams like smooth talk in I think Donald Glover pulled
away Lando shooting great character, and
I really, and they really play off the Yeah, Han Solo and Lando are like friends like frenemies.
Right because it explains that whole scene on the on the dock the landing dock, yeah, you got a whole lot of nerve coming around here.
Yeah. And then they throw hugging it out. And it's just, they set it up perfectly because you know how Han Solo basically calls him out and as a cheat. But without like, actually, like, tarnishing his his name.
And actually, you know what, that sort of makes sense? That, okay, so Yes, agreed frenemies kind of thing. But if they if the connection that they those two characters have is what we've seen in the solo movie, and if there's not much more of a connection beyond that, it sort of makes sense that Lando would betray Han on best been in Empire Strikes Back because like yes, they were close. But they weren't like Best Buddies.
Right? Yeah. Yeah, I think just to defend my, my choice of rogue Rogue One just to wrap up my opinion on the whole Best Movies thing, obviously the the original trilogy stands for itself. You know, everyone has their own opinion on that that they developed when they were kids since then the prequels or Rogue one I think.
Rewatch the prequels. Yeah.
I have to since I had kids, I had to show them right.
Not just I mean, it's like yeah, somebody's acting really bad. Like a puts away Lucas cannot write and direct a love scene at all. Like how humans he doesn't know how humans interact. He just can't write it. The biggest problem
with the prequels I mean, midichlorians aside and stuff which we've solved that issue tonight. The biggest problem with is the the way they wrote Anakin Skywalker if you fix that, you fix the prequels. There's nothing else really in the prequels that is, you know, damaging. Right it's Anakin Skywalker how much of like a whiny little millennial pretty boy he is more or less but wrote going back to Rogue One. The what I like about Rogue One. They don't have to have a happy ending everyone dies right at the end. They leave the mystery of who these characters are like you don't figure out who the dark troopers are these Death Troopers these Blackstorm troopers right? That's badass you don't figure out any of the backstory of Cassie and and or when he's talking about you know, to Jr. So yeah, I've lost I've been in this world since I was six. You're not the only one who's lost everything. Like okay, awesome like your brain. It's that that mystery and that that that like imagination that the original trilogy did when they're talking about like, oh, you fought in the Clone Wars. Oh great. What are the Clone Wars now? My brain is going crazy. Oh, you don't have to freaking make an entire movie about it. That kind of ruins the the mystery of the Star Wars.
Okay, let me let me throw a monkey wrench in there real quick. So all the all the quote main characters that die in row one are not main characters. There is one main character in row one. And you know what it is? It's the Death Star. The Death Star is the main character of row one. And the Deathstar survives row one so the main characters actually is passes on through that and really it's an extension of four that's all it really is.
So but but so contrast that with the last Jedi and you've got Finn in his little sand speeders going straight towards the the lightsaber battering ram thing that they're that they're trying to crack the
ginormous lightsaber on the on the crystal Fox?
Yeah, it was late. And he's he's like full speed ahead, going to kamikaze save everyone. And then they had a girl run into him and like save him like, let him die. That is like, if Rogue One had like that, if that same attitude was applied to that movie that was applied to Rogue One, they'd let him run into that lightsaber thing everyone be saved, but they had run into him and now everything's better.
Might have that.
My point is, is like, you don't have to save everybody's character. You don't have to, like your favorite character can like be a legend by sacrificing themselves for the greater good. Rogue One did that Rogen didn't have a problem doing that. And because of it Rogue One, I think is a superior movie to any of the ones that have been created pretty much since the last the original trilogy and all agree with
that. Yeah, yeah. Rogue ones Excellent.
Man, that scene in last Jedi with the landspeeder kind of things. It's like frustrating so Yeah, cuz Finn is okay, we're gonna go on this tangent. Finn is like going full speed at this like lightsaber
looks like the Hadron Collider.
Yeah, but then and then he saved by rows, rows, rows saved by rows. By being like, how does she catch up to him? To save him?
We'll also also like one scene later they're back at the base and they did it on death foot
on foot. Yeah, they just like hop skip and jump right on but with all the Empire behind them and they're like miles
away from the end he's hauling assets How does happen?
Yeah.
That was kind of like that's that's artificial drama. That's been boiled up. Right? Well, it's
also like the whole thing in the last Jedi with the whole casino thing where like, rich people are evil is basically the story their
space Dallas.
Well, and the camel horses right Oh, Oh, you know the whole let's let the camel horses free and everyone's happy to screw the child slaves but the camo horses are free.
Yeah, that's true. They kind of do that, don't they? Yeah, but but one of the one of the little children, they show him he's, well abide by the new standards. He's a Jedi.
He's a Protestant. Yeah.
So anything else guys? We've gone on for like, an hour in like, Yeah,
I'll say no other night otherwise we'll go on.
Yeah like well yeah we've done pretty good so far. Great. Well then Roz, thank you so much for joining us on the third Yeah. Star Wars Christmas Special. Would you like to sign us out?
Yeah, let's do it. I appreciate the invite guys. It was a lot of fun. So with that being said that was the third annual macro fab Star Wars Christmas special podcast. I was your guest Josh Rojer.
And we were your
hosts Parker Dolman. And Steven Craig.
See you later guys.
Take it easy
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